The Slayer Diaries
by LilPotterfanfic
Summary: Ignorance is bliss. And now that Sidney Gilbert knows about the supernatural, life just got a million times more deadly. Aside from the return of her kind-of boyfriend, Damon Salvatore's, psychotic ex, Sidney fights to save her sister from the Original vampire hell-bent on sacrificing her, and in doing so, places all of her hopes on a deal made with a man she knows she can't trust.
1. Injected

**The Slayer Diaries**  
 **Chapter 1: Injected**

 **A/N: READ THIS BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE: If you have yet to read the prequel to this fic,** _ **The Damsel in Distress Diaries,**_ **I strongly recommend you do so now. Although things will be explained to an extent, you are probably going to be very, very lost. Also, the last fic ended on a cliff hanger, so, you know, spoilers. There's also a fuck ton of cursing and mature content in this (sex and death and violence), so read with discretion. That is all. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Mystic Falls in January had always been, in Damon's opinion, the most magical place on Earth.

It had started at a young age; with sleigh rides with Stefan and their mother, and ferocious snowball fights between the Salvatore brothers and the other boys who lived near them. There was something about the scent of the town this time of year. It smelled exactly like the waterfall it was named for: earthy and metallic and crisp.

Snow was few and far between in Mystic Falls, but somehow, always, always managed to fall. Damon watched it dance to the ground from the windows of the Boarding House, now.

The year was 2013, and this was the first time he had been able to watch snow in Mystic Falls in nearly two hundred years.

Of course, snow had fallen before while he had been in town, but that night, as terrible and wonderful as it had been, Damon hadn't been in a sane enough state to watch it.

That had been the night when the world he created for Katherine and himself had come crashing down around him, and the night when he saw Sidney Gilbert for more than just a snarky mouth and a fiercely protective friend.

Damon had never expected to fall in love with Sidney Gilbert, for the simple fact that she wasn't his type (too plain, too human, too warm), and that he had still been in love with Katherine when he met her.

But Sidney had been there to pick up the pieces when Damon saw for the first time what Katherine had done to him, and he had fallen and fallen hard. Sidney had, too. Damon was sure of it, even if she wouldn't admit it. But why else would she have done what she had for him? Running into a burning building, a cursed tomb, staying by his side even when he had done his damnedest to force her away?

Damon hadn't made things easy for her, but she had stuck by his side, and just a few hours ago, Damon had repaid her for it in the only way he could.

He had kissed her.

 _"I'm in love with you, Sidney Gilbert,"_ he had said, _"and you're in love with me, and I won't let you hide from it anymore."_

She hadn't responded, but he knew that she loved him just as much as he loved her. She had shown it, over and over and over again, and now it was Damon's turn. And he wasn't going to let her down. He had done that too purposefully and too frequently in the past, and he had promised himself that he never would again.

There were foot steps in the driveway. Damon straightened in his chair, setting the glass of Scotch back onto the side board. The footsteps were far apart and tight in rhythm; vampiric. Stefan, probably. And if not, Damon had a stake attached to the bottom of the chair he was sitting in.

The door opened half a second later, and Damon's shoulders relaxed once more. It was Stefan, although his hair was rumpled more than usual and there was an apprehensive sharpness to his jaw, a telling sign that what he was about to say to Damon would not be good.

"It's Sidney," Stefan said without preamble. "There's been another attack."

* * *

Seeing Elena's face always managed to send a pang through Damon's heart, but it was all the worse that night, big brown eyes blown even bigger with fear and pale face streaked with tears of hysteria.

"What happened?" Damon demanded the minute he encountered her in the hospital lobby.

Elena Gilbert was Sidney's younger sister- and shared a face with Damon's vampiric ex-lover, Katherine. The resemblance was what had brought Stefan and Damon to Mystic Falls in the first place, and what had introduced Sidney and Damon to each other. Sidney had only become a vampire slayer, and an irreplaceable part of the Salvatores' lives, to protect Elena, although now it was her friendship with the brothers that kept her fighting by their sides.

And apparently the reason why she had been attacked once again.

"I don't know!" Elena wailed, and before Damon knew it, her arms were around his waist and she was sobbing into his chest. "I came home- and- and she was just lying on the floor- in a _pool of her own blood, Damon!_ A-an- She's been stabbed, _again-_ And Uncle John's fingers were just- _lying on the kitchen counter-_ and Jeremy just-!"

Elena couldn't finish, overcome with her own tears, and her face disappeared into the cotton of Damon's thin t-shirt. But he had gotten the gist of it.

Only Sidney Gilbert could manage to get herself stabbed two times in just as many months.

For the moment, Damon decided to shove aside the sheer panic of Sidney's condition. He had to, or else he wouldn't be able to _think._

John. (Dick-face.)

Jeremy. (Annoying cock-blocker.)

Sidney. (Clueless dumb ass who he also happened to really, really love.)

What did the three have in common?

Aside from their relationships with Elena and the fact that they had all been in the house at the same time (although, by that logic, why hadn't Elena been attacked?), the only similarity was the last name.

"One of the tomb vampires might have escaped the fire and decided to attack the Gilberts in revenge," Damon said slowly, even if the explanation made his blood boil.

The tomb vampires had been responsible for Sidney's last stay in the hospital. Who was to say that they weren't behind this one, as well?

The sentence made Elena cry even harder, and Damon's arms tightened around her automatically. He liked the human girl, although it was impossible not to. She was too warm and giving, although there was a fire to her, as well. Seeing her, utterly destroyed like this, wasn't an enjoyable experience. Elena wasn't supposed to be like this, shaking so hard she was almost falling apart. She was supposed to be bitching at him, or laughing with Bonnie and Caroline, or making goo-goo eyes at Stefan (as gross as that idea was).

"Where is Sidney now?" Damon found himself asking, wondering if he could go to see her.

Elena let out a wet hiccough and blinked up at him. Mascara was running down her cheeks and her eyes were rimmed with red. "ICU," she whispered in a roughened voice. "She already went through surgery. Jenna is talking with the doctor right now."

Damon nodded mutely. He guessed he wouldn't be able to see her the normal way for a few more hours, then. He would have to climb through the window, something Sidney had always complained about. She claimed he looked too much like Spiderman, Batman, Edward Cullen, or some other dumb hero when he did.

A few minutes, or maybe even hours, passed before anything happened. Damon couldn't tell- your sense of time got shaky once you had been alive for as many years as he had. Finally, the door to ICU swung open, and a tired Jenna Gilbert emerged.

"How-?" Elena breached, but Jenna didn't answer. Instead, the red-head flopped down into a chair, put her head in her hands, and burst into tears.

Damon felt decidedly uncomfortable. He had never been good around crying people, and two women in one night was far too much for him to handle.

Tears didn't mean good things, either.

Ice dropped into the pit of his stomach. Was Sidney still alive?

"Jer-" Jenna choked around the waterfall of tears, "Jeremy's al-alive. The doctor's say he was trying to commit suicide, but he healed so quickly... They said it's a miracle."

Elena swallowed so hard Damon could hear it, and nodded quickly, tears retracing their previous paths across her cheekbones and down the lines of her jaw and throat. "And Sidney?"

Jenna breathed in deep, eyes skittering in Damon's direction. She didn't seem to be surprised that he was there.

"Not good," she finally answered. "She- She's in a coma, Elena. They say it's going to be a very long time before she wakes up, if ever."

Elena looked like she was about to throw up. "Oh."

Oh.

 _Oh?_

Not _oh_! This was Sidney! Sidney who was constantly doing something; taking pictures, playing soccer, biting her lip, kissing, fucking, chopping body parts off of the undead. Sidney who was full of life and energy and warmth, and who loved horror films and the travel channel and Elvis Presley and the Bee Gees.

Sidney Gilbert could not be in a coma.

But, Damon discovered not four hours later, she was. And she looked very much like she was already dead.

Her body just seemed... _wrong._ Sidney had always been the palest of the Gilbert siblings, but her skin had always had a warmth to it- a sort of honey undertone, but lacking the olive complexion that Elena and Jeremy shared. But like this... Sidney's skin was gaunt and nearly translucent. Damon could see every vein and freckle sticking out with striking vibrancy.

And she was so still. Even in sleep Sidney was constantly moving- kicking and rolling around. By the time she woke up, the sheets were always a twisted mess. Damon had always bitched at her for it, but now it was a habit that he found himself missing.

At least then she hadn't seemed like a corpse.

The hospital was quiet around the two of them, although they weren't the only people in the room. Caroline Forbes shared the space with Sidney, apparently having been involved in a car accident with two human boys they went to school with. Otherwise, Damon was alone with her, as it was after hours and he wasn't technically supposed to be there.

Whatever. Things like visiting hours were for people who were still alive.

Damon frowned down at her, fingers already brushing the ever-present white indents on her too-full bottom lip, evidence of her bad biting habit.

"Wake up, Siddie," Damon growled. "You've got to wake up."

No answer, of course, but he hadn't been expecting one, either.

With a frown, Damon took a seat at the side of the bed. "You can't do this to me, Gilbert," he complained. "I haven't even gotten you to tell me you love me yet, and you decide to take a nap?"

He knew it wasn't her fault, knew it wasn't her intention for this to happen again, knew that she would be upset when ( _not if_ ) she woke up by all the time she had missed.

But he was good at provoking her, he knew. And he also knew that when provoked, Sidney would react each and every time.

Not this time, though. Not this time.

There was silence, stillness. And as the night stretched on, and as snow swirled outside the window, Damon grabbed Sidney's hand, and fell into oblivion.

* * *

A week appeared and disappeared like lightning, and there was still no sign of Sidney waking up anytime soon. Much like the last time she had been stabbed, Damon, Elena, Stefan and Anastasia, Sidney's best friend, adopted a sort of bedside rotation schedule. Damon, as per usual, assigned himself night watch.

In typical fashion, Elena slipped in through the door at dawn and took the only other seat in the room, closer to her sister's side than Damon had been.

An hour or so passed in silence. Elena didn't have to be in first period until around eight, and it was only six, so there was no rush. Damon would stay with Sidney until school let out, as part of their unspoken agreement.

"Did she say anything that night?" Damon found himself asking. "About her feelings for me?"

Elena blinked up at him, clearly confused, before shrugging and responding, "I don't know, Damon. She didn't- _doesn't_ like to talk about it. She changes the subject whenever I bring it up, but of course she loves you. It's kind of obvious she does."

"No, but what about the night she was attacked?" Damon pressed. "When we were kissing and you interrupted us."

A silky brow raised above a dark eye, and Elena frowned at him. "I never saw, or interrupted, any kiss, Damon," she replied petulantly.

"Yes, you did. The night of the attack, I brought Siddie home, told her I loved her, kissed her, and then you came out and told her to come inside," Damon insisted, adopting the kindergarten-teacher-esque voice he used on Sidney sometimes.

Now Elena was scowling, and she reminded Damon so much of Katherine when she made that face that it hurt-

Wait.

Katherine.

Elena stood from her seat, shouldering her backpack, and made for the door, casting a hurting glance at Caroline's prone form as she did so. "I need to get to school," she said, exiting without further goodbye, but Damon wasn't paying much attention to Elena.

He was more concerned with the vampire she shared a face with, and whether or not that resemblance may have been what almost cost Sidney her life.

* * *

Suspicions aside, Damon's The-Bitch-is-Back theory didn't gain any clod to it until a few nights later, when Stefan called to say that he had been practically molested at the Gilbert house, and Katherine was the culprit. When Stefan confessed to bodily heaving Katherine through a glass window when she tried to kiss him, Damon was almost proud.

Almost.

It was a bit hard to be proud of his younger brother when said younger brother's girlfriend was screaming in his face.

"You've known Katherine was the one who stabbed Sidney for _weeks,_ Damon," Elena was hissing up at him, " _weeks,_ and you didn't tell us!"

If Sidney was here, she would have told Elena to calm down, smacked Damon upside the head, and then gone on to ask him everything he knew about Katherine being back in town and what she was in town for. But Sidney wasn't present (or conscious) at the moment, so instead, Damon rolled his eyes and said, "More like was suspicious about it for three days, but sure, Elena, we'll go with the whole ' _weeks'_ thing you've got going on here."

If looks could kill, Damon would have been dead- again. Elena, it seemed, wasn't a big fan of the high, falsetto voice Damon liked to use when mocking her.

Well, too fucking bad for Elena.

Stefan was staring at him, plainly curious, and Damon wondered if he knew about the hickey rapidly forming on the side of his neck. Elena would notice it soon, and definitely wouldn't be happy about it.

"Why did you think Katherine was back, Damon?" Stefan asked quietly. "Did she come see you?"

"No," Damon answered automatically, some of his resentment rising in his voice as he did. (He didn't care about Katherine anymore, he didn't care about Katherine anymore, he didn't care about Katherine anymore.)

"Then why did you think she was back?"

Damon sighed dramatically, grinning at the other two, and said, "The night of the attack, Sidney and I got to-" He paused and turned to Elena. "What do you kids call it these days? First base?"

"Fuck you, Damon."

"First base," Damon decided, "and little Miss Elena-"

"Fuck off, Damon."

"-interrupted us. Or at least, I thought it was Elena. She claims not to have interrupted anything."

Elena's arms were crossed firmly across her chest. "Because _I didn't,"_ she insisted. "Also, go fuck a trumpet, Damon."

He smirked at her. "Did Sidney teach you that one?"

"I swear to God-!"

With a motherly sigh, Stefan reeled Elena behind his back with an arm and said, "So do you know why she's back?" as Elena glared at Damon from over his shoulder.

"No," Damon answered. "And frankly, I don't want to know, seeing as that reason is probably you, Stefan."

Stefan drew himself up in shock. "What makes you say that?"

Damon gave a petulant eyeroll. "Look at all of her past motivations, Stefan," he instructed. "She turned us because of you. She started all of this because of you. She escaped from the tomb because of _you_. Who's to say that she isn't back because of you, too?"

That made both Stefan and Elena stop short. Stefan looked faintly ill. Elena's face turned a bright, vibrant shade of red.

"Are you saying," she said in a shakily angered voice, "that the reason this bitch _stabbed my sister_ is because her old boyfriend is in love with me?"

"No," Stefan answered immediately. "That's not the reason. Katherine doesn't love me- she just thinks she does. And furthermore, I can't be the only reason she's here. If she's been free for all these years, why is she choosing now to show up?"

"Because you're hitting a new piece of ass?" Damon suggested crassly, knowing it would piss Elena off.

Predictably, Stefan had to stop her from jumping Damon, once again.

"No," he insisted again. "I'm just a pit stop. She's here for something. We just need to find out what it is."

* * *

Damon hated funerals with a fiery passion- mostly because he had been to far too many of them, both before and after his death. There were the gargantuan affairs that had been funerals in Mystic Falls pre-Civil War, and the cold, silent graves, dug by fellow soldiers and sat through with numb toes from holey boots while he had been away, fighting for the Union. Then there was his own funeral- the one he had shared with Stefan. Damon had watched from the tree line as two empty caskets were lowered into the ground, and as his mother sobbed so brokenly that he had thought she would shatter.

Richard Lockwood's funeral was too close to his own for comfort.

Literally. The Lockwood family plot was so close to where Damon's casket had been buried that he could see Stefan's head stone from where he was standing.

About halfway through the service, a man around the age Damon had been when he died slipped into the crowd, and walked up to Richard's son, Tyler, placing a hand on his shoulder. Damon raised an eyebrow at the stranger, curiosity grabbing his bored mind, and leaned over to Sherrif Liz Forbes, standing at his side.

"Who's the man hanging off Tyler's shoulder?"

Liz glanced in the direction of Damon's interest, lips pinching into a thin line, before shrugging and returning her attention to the pastor conducting the funeral. "Mason Lockwood," she answered quietly, "Richard's wayward younger brother."

"I take it he doesn't come into town much," Damon noted, watching the way a dry-eyed Mrs. Lockwood gave Mason a judging stare.

Liz shrugged again. "He went off to college in Hawaii right out of high school," she divulged. "His brother tried to tell him about the Council, but he wasn't buying it. Doesn't believe in the supernatural. He disappeared for a few years and turned up in town again to take a semester off. Left again not long after. This is the first I've seen of him in a year."

Damon made a noncommittal humming noise in response, bored again, and the topic of Mason Lockwood lay dormant until a few hours later, at the Mayor's wake, when Damon and Elena were standing to the side of the room.

"Elena!" a deep voice boomed, and Mason was there, wrapping an arm around her delicate shoulders and giving her a light squeeze. "How have you been?"

Elena just looked at him, forcing a warm smile. "Good. It's good to see you, Mason."

Lies. No love lost there, apparently. How did the two of them know each other?

"How's Sidney doing?"

Wait. Back the fuck up. Why was a somewhat-attractive man who was _clearly too old for her_ asking about Damon's Sidney?

"I'm sorry," Damon decided to butt in. "Who are you?"

Mason turned to him, thick eyebrows raising, and stuck out a hand for Damon to shake. Damon didn't take it. "I'm Mason Lockwood," he said, withdrawing the hand. "Sidney's ex-boyfriend."

Shit.

Fucking shit.

Fucking ass fuck-shit.

Damon squared his shoulders and smirked. "I'm Damon Salvatore. Sidney's-" What the fuck were they to each other again? "-friend."

The smug look on Mason's face made Damon want to rip it off. "Oh. That's nice."

Elena was watching their exchange, thoroughly unamused. "Well," she said, shifting in her high heels. "Mason, Sidney's not doing so well."

"I figured," Mason said with a toothy grin. "Why else wouldn't she be here?"

"She's kind of in a coma."

"Oh," said Mason.

 _Oh._ Again with the " _oh_ ". Why was that everyone's reaction to Sidney's condition?

Mason shifted uncomfortably, partly from the way both Elena and Damon were glaring at him. "That's too bad," he said, not bothering to ask _why_ Sidney was in a coma, just sort of accepting the fact like a douche bag. He glanced in the other Lockwoods' direction before saying, "I'd better go. I'll come visit Sidney later."

"Please do," Elena said with a nod, and then let the smile slip once Mason was gone.

"Who the hell was that?" Damon demanded.

Elena's face twisted into an expression of disgust, eyes still fixed on Mason's broad shoulders. "I'll let Sidney tell you that story," she muttered. "It's not really my place."

The " _if Sidney ever wakes up",_ went unsaid.

* * *

That night found Damon sitting in the living room of the Boarding House, rather than keeping his usual vigil at Sidney's bedside. Stefan was with Elena, and for the first time in a long time, Damon was alone.

Or so he thought.

He wished he could say that he wasn't surprised to find Katherine sitting on his couch. He really, really did. But he couldn't.

She smiled at him. "Hello, Damon."

Now that she was sitting right in front of him once again, it was easy to see the differences between Katherine and Elena. Both women wore black dresses that day, but where Elena's had been eyelet, girlish, betraying her innocence, Katherine's was velvet, mature, her hair curled and pinned up off of her shoulders. She was smiling, but her eyes were blank.

"Katherine," Damon said, jaw tensed.

He had imagined this moment a million times over. In the lonely years after his transformation, he had dreamed of crashing through the tomb doors like the conquering hero he had joined the Union to become, and sweeping a beautifully pale Katherine into his arms, carrying her back into the sunshine. He would kiss her before dripping blood into her mouth, and she would waken, proclaim her undying devotion for him, and they would live happily ever after. But that wasn't how it had turned out, and her betrayal still left a sick taste in his mouth.

"Why are you here?"

Dark lips curled into a facisimile of a smile, and Katherine set down the empty glass she had been toying with. "Why, I'm here to seduce you, of course."

Something in Damon's throat turned blazing hot and then sunk into the pit of his stomach. "And why would you do that?" he asked, trying to make it sound as if he didn't particularly care, even as his arms trembled from restraint. He wanted to grab her. Wanted to grab her-

And break her.

"I thought you were in love with Stefan."

Katherine grinned at him, so familiar it hurt. "I am. It's all part of my master plan," she said, rising swiftly from her seat and strolling over to him.

"And that plan would be?" Damon prompted, brows raising. He tensed as she leaned over him, firm breasts brushing against his chest.

Katherine hummed in his ear, taking his Scotch and placing it on the side board. "I'm going to seduce you," she murmured. "And you'll fall back in love with me, and forget all about that little human girl, and then the little family you've remade with Stefan will come crashing down, and the both of you will come running back to me."

He couldn't help indulging her.

Damon's hands rose to cradle her thin shoulders, and he drew her in closer, relishing the feeling of her lips at his ear. "You really think that's what's going to happen."

Katherine purred her assent-

And Damon's hands turned to talons where they met her skin.

"You forgot just one thing," he snarled, feeling his blood turn black and his eyes cloud with a hunger for death. "That 'little human girl' is _mine._ And she's a million times better than you'll ever be."

For the second time that week, a Salvatore brother chucked Katherine Pierce through a window.

"I'm not interested, Katherine!" Damon bellowed, following her into the snow- even if he had gone willingly and she hadn't. "And I never will be again. I've found a new love; and whatever grand plans you had for fucking me over disappeared the minute you hurt her!"

There was silence for a moment, then the supine form in the snow began to move, and then it began to laugh.

"Oh, _Damon,"_ Katherine gasped, getting to her feet. "You haven't changed in two hundred years, have you? You think Sidney _loves you_?"

"Of course she does-"

"Then why didn't she react better to your little declaration?" Katherine taunted, each word an arrow in its own right.

Against his own will, Damon felt his shoulders stiffen. "Shut up, Katherine."

But she kept pressing: "You think she loves you, Damon? Who could ever love _you_?" Katherine's eyes turned red, veins turned black, words betraying her for the monster she really was. Her mouth twisted into a sick grin, and she viciously bit out, "You are nothing, Damon. You are unloveable. Too dark, too twisted, too _evil._ "

 _I'm not,_ Damon wanted to shout. _I'm not. I'm not! I'm_ _ **not**_ _!_

"Newsflash, darling," he fired back instead, "so are you. Which means miracles do happen, because for a time, I loved you."

"Birds of a feather," Katherine suggested, grin turning amicable.

Damon shook his head. "No," he said. "Pretty lies and inexperience, on my part. As for Sidney, she just needs time."

A pout took over Katherine's mouth, and Damon's blood turned to ice. "Unfortunately for Miss Gilbert, time is something she is running out of very quickly."

And Katherine was gone once again.

* * *

By some miracle, Damon reached Sidney's hospital room before Katherine did.

He knew what he had to do, but he also knew that Sidney would hate him for it if she ever found out.

Katherine would, without a doubt, attempt to kill Sidney the moment she got here. She had already tried it once, and gotten very, very close. Damon doubted if Sidney would be able to survive a second effort.

Without help, that is.

Entire body tensing with revulsion for what he was about to do, Damon sunk his fangs into the vein on his wrist, took a deep draught, and then forced the tainted blood down Sidney's throat via his mouth.

A wind passed through the room, and when Damon rose from Sidney's prone form, color returning to it even now, Katherine was standing by the door, staring at him in rage. And Damon just had to laugh.

"Go ahead," he taunted, "try to kill her. Do that, and I'll have her by my side for eternity. You lose, Katherine."

Nostrils flared, blood red eyes took on the color of fire, and with two, decisive movements, Katherine bit open the palm of her hand, forced it into an unconscious Caroline's neck, and closed her fingers over the blonde's nose. Caroline woke immediately, eyes panicked, struggling. Her last breath was spent screaming.

Katherine cleared her throat once the deed was done, and straightened, eyes fading back to their usual brown. "No, Damon," she corrected, adopting another smile. "The game has just begun."

* * *

 **A/N: There it is! Chapter one of** _ **The Slayer Diaries.**_ **Drop a review down below and let me know what you thought, if you so please, and stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	2. While You Were Sleeping

**The Slayer Diaries**  
 **Chapter 2: While You Were Sleeping**

Sidney was getting better.

It seemed a miracle, sure, _but Sidney was getting better._ The doctors didn't understand it, said that it was practically unheard of. Sidney shouldn't have been showing signs of waking up for years, if ever. And now, they said that it could happen any day.

And Elena and Stefan were looking at him with suspicion, and Jenna Gilbert and Anastasia looked like they could burst into tears of joy at any time, and Alaric kept telling him that he was playing with fire, and Damon couldn't care less.

Because Sidney was going to wake up.

Elena, though relieved, was the most suspicious of them all.

"I'm glad Sidney is getting better," she breached hesitantly one night a few weeks into Sidney's stay in the hospital. "But I still can't figure out how it's happened."

"The will of God?" Damon suggested with a wry grin.

Elena, expectedly, scowled at him. "All I'm saying," she continued, brown eyes narrowing, "is that if someone _did_ really, really love Sidney, and if that someone _did_ happen to be a vampire, and he _did_ happen to give her his blood, and if she _did_ find out, she would probably hate him for- well, for forever."

"No, she wouldn't," Damon responded immediately.

Elena stared at him for another minute. Softly, she told him, "You don't get it, do you? The only thing Sidney loves as much as her family is her humanity. She wouldn't give that up for anything, Damon."

That last comment hit him. Hard.

He knew Sidney never wanted to become a vampire, mostly because she had told him at least a million times over the past few months. She refused his blood constantly, even when she was injured or about to go into surgery. Damon had forced her, once, when her wrist was shattered, but that was the only time he could think of that she had actually accepted, and even that hadn't been consensual, exactly.

Six months ago, Sidney's consent wouldn't have mattered to him in the slightest. And it still didn't, but the idea of her being upset with him for what he had done to help her...

It didn't sit right with him.

But if she was still alive. If she was getting better. If she saw the sunrise another day and still looked for the goodness in everything around her. Then Damon was alright with her hating him.

The afternoon passed slowly, as it usually did, without much movement from Sidney. Or from Caroline, for that matter. She hadn't woken up from her Katherine-imposed slumber yet, and Damon knew that either he or Stefan would have to be around when she did.

Caroline Forbes was going to become a vampire.

Damon didn't know how he felt about that. He had barely been able to stand the blonde when she had been his thrall, and now he was going to have to put up with her for the rest of eternity.

If she decided to make the transition, that is.

Damon wasn't quite sure what to expect from her, he mused as he took his usual spot in Sidney and Caroline's shared room, leaning against the wall closest to the window. Caroline, he knew, had changed since their "relationship". She was a bit stronger now, he supposed. Still annoying, though. Why Sidney was friends with her, Damon would never understand.

It was as he was thinking this, that one of the heart beats in the room came to a screeching stop. Damon's breath caught in his throat. _Sidney, Sidney. Call the doctor- bite your hand, get the blood down her throat, make her a vampire, it doesn't matter if she'll hate you-_

A gasp erupted from the bed on the other side of the room, and Damon's eyes followed the movement as Caroline's chest began to rise and fall again, and she woke up with a start, fear still in her face from the last time she had been awake: When Katherine had killed her.

Caroline let out another choked gasp, probably getting herself used to the emptiness of her veins and the sudden clarity of her scent and hearing and eyesight. She looked frantic, almost, and Damon felt a strange thud of sympathy for her in his chest.

Ew. Emotion.

"Don't cry," he told her when he thought he smelled oncoming tears. "I can't stand it when people cry."

Caroline paused and stared at him for a good, long minute. "You were there," she said suddenly. "When Elena-" She flinched. "When- when-"

"Katherine," Damon volunteered. "Her name is Katherine, and she is a vampire."

And, in lieu of presence from Stefan, who would probably do this better than he would, Damon explained things to Caroline.

She took it about as well as one would expect.

"You are the worst person _ever_ ," she stressed, ignoring Damon, who was still reeling from the now super-powered punch she had delivered him. "This is all your fault-"

"I know that, thanks," Damon groused, rubbing at his sore jaw. For someone so small and generally weak in every way, shape, and fashion, Caroline could really pack a punch.

"You've got a decision to make, you know," Damon bridged, probably much more insensitively than Stefan or Elena would have, but Lord knew he didn't give a damn for Caroline's feelings, and besides, this whole affair was draining in the first place. "You can either drink human blood and make the transition to become a vampire, or you can die. I don't really give a shit either way."

Caroline blinked up at him, apparently in shock over the crass way he had explained things to her, but then that slowly shifted to a grumpy scowl. Not surprised by his behavior, then. Good.

"Would I have to kill people?" she asked, and then as an afterthought: "Does Stefan kill people?"

"No," Damon answered immediately. "Stefan kills fuzzy little bunnies. It only has to be human the first time."

It didn't take long for Caroline to make up her mind, and if there was even one thing that Damon admired about the blonde- despite her beauty and easiness to manipulate- it was her will to live.

She refused the nursing staff member Damon suggested as her first meal, eventually snapping and breaking into the blood bank halfway through the night. Damon made her clean up her mess after she had gorged herself on nearly a gallon's worth of bags. Caroline glared at him the entire time, but did as she was told. She may have been a vampire now, but she was still easy-to-order-around Caroline Forbes.

She was released from the hospital the next morning. Elena turned up to help Caroline pack her things, and nearly murdered Damon when he told her about the whole blondie-is-a-blood-sucker-now thing. Stefan wasn't very happy either, but hey, what the hell was Damon supposed to do? He wasn't the one who had turned Caroline. That was Katherine. And maybe Damon shouldn't have provoked her quite so much, but how else would she have gotten the hint?

As Caroline waited for her mother to finally check her out of the hospital, Damon saw her eyes shift over to Sidney's prone form. Caroline frowned, and Damon braced himself for what would, no doubt, be a predictably bitchy, dumb comment about his relationship with Sidney.

Instead, he got this: "Sidney is way too good for you, and if you ever hurt her, I will rip your dick off and shove it down your throat."

Maybe there was some hope for Caroline Forbes after all.

* * *

Why the hell was Mason Lockwood in Sidney's hospital room?

Damon paused in the doorway, holding a takeout bag from Sundays with Suzie, and stared. It was one of those rare occasions when Sidney was completely by herself, nearly a week after Caroline had been released and she had started her slow- but steady- improvement. At present, Mason Lockwood was looking down at Sidney, a strange look on his face, and- _holding her hand-_

Damon smacked the takeout bag onto the table next to the door with deliberate force, causing Mason to glance up at him at the sound.

"Hey," Damon said, forcing himself to be casual. "It's Mason Lockwood, right?"

Mason adopted a casual grin. "Right. Damien Salvatore?"

"Damon," Damon corrected immediately, scowling.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment.

"Why are you here?" Damon asked at the same time as Mason inquired, "Do you know Sidney?"

They stared at each other again.

Mason answered first: "I just wanted to check up and see how she was doing," he bridged, fidgeting with the vase of flowers Damon just now noticed that he was holding. "I was really upset when Elena told me she was in a coma… I brought her these."

The flowers were roses.

Sidney hated roses. She thought they were cliché.

Damon fought back a grin of triumph. "Oh, that's nice," he said, sounding, he knew, quite condescending. "Yeah, Sidney and I are really, really close. Dating, actually."

That wasn't quite true. Whatever Sidney and Damon were, the term "dating" didn't even come close to covering it. Neither did "lovers", "best friends", "friends with benefits", or "fuck buddies". There wasn't really a name for what they were, but Damon decided to choose the only classification that didn't sound creepy and would send a very clear message to Mason to _stay the fuck away from Sidney._

Mason hummed noncommittally. "Really? That's nice. How does she feel about you being a vampire?"

 _Well, fuck._

Damon gaped at the other man, opened his mouth, shut it, and glared harshly. "I'm not sure," he snapped, "but she must be pretty okay with it, considering the fact that we're fucking."

Well, _had_ fucked. And both had been delirious at the time; Damon with sorrow, Sidney from having been beat up so many times in one night… And he may have called Sidney "Katherine" at one point or another, which certainly hadn't won him any brownie points with her… And he had sort of tried to do it again the next morning without any luck. In fact, if he remembered correctly, Sidney had shouted at him and then run out of the Boarding House during a blizzard when he had tried to kiss her.

But Mason didn't need to know that.

Mason "hmm"ed at Damon, remarkably like another bitch he knew (fuck you, Katherine, fuck you, Katherine, _fuck you, Katherine_ ), and then said, "She's good at it, isn't she? I was her first, you know."

That one hurt. Damon had known Sidney wasn't a virgin, but had assumed that the person who had made it there before him was just some dumb high school boy, not Mason Who-Apparently-Was-Involved-In-the-Supernatural-Too Lockwood.

"Obviously you weren't very good, otherwise you would have been the last, as well," Damon quipped, feeling oddly guilty about discussing sex-with-Sidney when said recipient was both in the room and in a coma. But fuck feeling guilty. Mason needed to understand that Sidney was off-limits; now and for the rest of eternity.

"That may be true," Mason admitted, "if I hadn't been the one to leave her. Besides, no one can resist their first love- you'd know that better than anyone, wouldn't you, Damon?"

Satisfied with having gotten the last word, Mason grinned down at Sidney in goodbye, before getting to his feet, setting the vase of roses down on the table next to her bed, and leaving the room, slamming his shoulder against Damon's as he went for good measure. Normally, Damon would have ripped his throat out by this point (which might not have worked because he wasn't even sure that Mason was _human_ anymore). But there was just one thing that threw him for a loop:

How did Mason know about Damon and Katherine?

* * *

Sidney, in Keeley Saltzman's humble opinion, really needed to work on getting through an entire month without landing herself in the emergency room. The Vampire Slayer was practically a VIP patient at the Mystic Falls hospital by this point.

Not to sound flippant about the current situation, that is. No, Keeley felt awful about everything that had happened to Sidney- even if she wasn't quite sure what it was that had actually happened. No one in their little Scooby Doo gang was sure. All they knew was that she had been stabbed in the stomach the same night two other family members were injured, and that was virtually all the information that they were going to get until Sidney woke up and told them what had happened.

 _If_ she ever woke up, that is.

She was getting better, Keeley knew, but the doctor kept telling all of them that you could never be too sure when it came to head injuries.

At least Caroline was alright. Keeley had been so worried after the car crash. She, Matt, and Tyler had been alright, but it was Caroline who had gotten the worst of the impact. For a while, the doctors hadn't been sure that Caroline would make it, but Doctor Fell had solved that incredibly quickly, and thank God up in Heaven above, Caroline had been released from the hospital a week ago.

"For someone who was practically dead two weeks ago, you look good, Care," Keeley joked lamely. She thought she saw Caroline stiffen at the comment, and frowned.

It was the night of the Winter Carnival, and the two girls were meandering around the high school parking lot with no particular destination in mind, Keeley shivering from the chill, wishing she'd worn a more substantial coat than the varsity cheerleading jacket she had on. Caroline looked unbothered by the cold, but agitated by her thoughts.

"Yeah, well," Caroline stalled, searching for an answer that wouldn't betray how absolutely, insanely freaked out she was at the moment. "I always look good."

I mean, _seriously? What the actual hell?_

Caroline was a vampire now, apparently, and Damon had explained things (sort of) to her, and she knew about Katherine and Elena and Sidney being a Slayer (honestly, if that wasn't a mind fuck), and that two of her teachers were Slayers, too, apparently. And Bonnie was a witch and Anastasia was an alchemist and Damon was still a douche- only a supernatural douche, now- and Keeley apparently knew about all of it.

Keeley Saltzman and Caroline Forbes were a dynamic duo to be feared- or at least they thought so.

Caroline, queen of the high school jungle, head cheerleader, homecoming queen, Miss Mystic Fucking Falls, was the kind of girl movies were made about. With sparkling blonde curls, big blue eyes, and a perfect somersault, she was the epitome of the All-American girl- She was also, admittedly, a bit of a bitch. But who could blame her? In a town where a last name meant everything, she was to Elena and Sidney Gilbert as a giraffe was to a lion. Still gorgeous and majestic, but with less power. And now, she was apparently a vampire.

Keeley Saltzman had moved to Mystic Falls with her father not four months ago, and had very quickly been accepted into Caroline's life as a permanent addition. She was awkward, talkative, and easily excitable, and swore like a sailor more often than not. But she was also kind and loyal and really, really good at making Caroline more confident in herself, and it was for those reasons that the two of them had become so close in the first place.

So what was holding Caroline back from telling the truth?

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Keeley's father killed vampires, and Caroline happened to be one now.

But the façade couldn't last for long. It was after the Ferris wheel when Caroline finally broke; Keeley was flicking at their tickets in that nervous, fidgety way of hers, and suddenly- There was a slight _schlinking_ sound (and how could Caroline even hear that now?) as the paper sliced through flesh, and then a small, red dot- And the _smell._ Chocolate, spear mint, rushing water, new puppy- And Caroline was just so _thirsty_ -

"Keeley," she choked out, sobbing, once it was over, "I am so, _so_ sorry."

Keeley didn't respond- _couldn't_ respond. She had been bitten before, once; the night she had found out about monsters. And she was feeling that sensation once again: the drowning, can't-breathe, too light, too dizzy feeling.

She had been bitten again. By Caroline.

Caroline was a vampire.

"Please, say something!" Caroline begged, and _Keeley's blood was still dripping off of her chin-_

Keeley said nothing, and with a broken whining noise, Caroline whirled on the heel of her boot and was gone.

* * *

Keeley was still in the same spot when Stefan found her later that night.

He looked at her for a moment, hugging her legs to her chest, and then sighed lowly, taking a seat on the pavement next to her. Keeley spared him a glance, confused. She and Stefan… hadn't had much interaction before. Barely any, if she was being honest. The fact that he was the one who found her after the whole affair was a little annoying. She'd prefer Elena, or her dad, or Sidney- only Sidney was still in a coma so never mind.

"So," Stefan began, in that slow-paced, Grandma-like way of his, "Caroline is a vampire."

Keeley just nodded, resting her chin on her knees.

She couldn't help but feel guilty for the way that she had reacted. Over the past couple of months, she had come to rely on Caroline's bluntness and support. Her friend had seemed an oasis of suburban normalcy in the midst of the insanity that was the Salvatores and the rest of the vampires who had practically invaded Mystic Falls.

Keeley was terrified of vampires: had been ever since she had been attacked by one. Maybe it had something to do with that attack- with the fact that the vampire who drank from her had been slayed by Sidney, and that attack had prompted Sidney's kidnapping and subsequent torture. Maybe Keeley's fear had to do with what she had seen from Sidney after she had been captured. Sidney had been a wreck, covered from head to toe in bruises, bite marks, cuts. Her stomach had been stabbed with her own stake, leaving her barren; her breasts had been injured so badly that she had needed to get them reduced; she had spent almost a month in the same hospital room she was lying in now.

Or maybe it was because of Keeley's mother. Isobel had abandoned both daughter and husband to become immortal- at the hands of Damon, no less, who wasn't exactly apologetic about ruining her life, Keeley knew. She had thought, for the longest time, that Isobel was dead, and the realization that she wasn't was a hard one to swallow. Isobel had come back to Mystic Falls nearly a month ago, and had asked Keeley to start a new life with her away from the danger that the Salvatores had brought with them.

A life away from her father.

Keeley had declined, obviously, but Isobel's offer had made her jumpy, paranoid. Instead of pretending that the danger didn't exist, she was searching for it.

And now the danger had found her, in the form of her best friend's teeth being planted in her neck.

But that was just it. Caroline was Keeley's _best friend._ And she was scared, obviously, and Keeley had made that all the worse by refusing to comfort her in her time of need.

"I think I might be a piece of shit person," Keeley admitted.

Stefan shrugged at her, fighting off an obvious smile, and said, "No, you're not. You were just scared. That's understandable."

"I don't understand why I was, though!" Keeley snapped, frustrated. "I should be used to this by now, shouldn't I? I mean, it's been how many months?"

"Two," Stefan answered immediately. "I've had a hundred times more experience with this than you, and I'm still not used to it, so don't beat yourself up about it."

"But I'm so useless! I mean, you and Sidney and Damon and my dad and Mr. West are so strong- and Bonnie and Anastasia can do all these incredible things-"

"And you are the most loyal person I've ever met," Stefan interrupted calmly, "so don't undersell yourself, Keeley."

She huffed at him. Why did he have to be so logical?

"You got scared and reacted poorly," Stefan continued, "but who can blame you? You were attacked by a vampire, Keeley. And that's fine. That's a normal reaction."

"How is Caroline?" Keeley asked.

"Upset. She went home after telling Elena, Bonnie and me about what happened. She was really upset. Bonnie wasn't happy about her being a vampire," Stefan explained coolly.

Keeley frowned, clenching and unclenching her fists. "So she's alone?"

Stefan nodded, and Keeley's frown deepened. Caroline hated being alone, she knew, and Keeley was on her feet in the next instant. She shivered, and Stefan followed her out of the carnival with something that looked a bit like amused trepidation.

"Do you need a ride to her house?" Stefan asked.

"Yup," Keeley chirped, if more reserved than usual. She stopped short, suddenly, frowning again. "I don't think she'll want to see me right now."

Stefan resisted the urge to groan and said, "Why?"

Keeley shrugged. "I don't know the reasoning. I just know Caroline. She won't want someone to feel sorry for her, she'll want some kind of solution. And I don't have one for her right now."

Stefan stared at her for a long moment. He had never been quite sure what to make of Keeley Saltzman, other than that she was fiercely loyal, ridiculously awkward, and occasionally funny. He hadn't realized how perceptive she was of other people's wants and needs.

"What kind of solution are you proposing we find?" he asked as the two began walking away. "There's no cure for vampirism. Trust me, Keeley, I've looked."

"Well, how do you walk in the sun? I'm assuming Caroline can't do that yet," Keeley suggested. And just like that, Stefan had an answer.

He grinned, pleased. He liked Caroline, for all her fake superficiality, wanted to see her happy. "Come on. We're going to get Caroline a daylight ring."

* * *

By the time Keeley and Stefan left Anastasia's house, brand new daylight ring in hand, it was hours past midnight, and both were visibly exhausted, Stefan's vampirism not lending him much help, it seemed.

Anastasia, as usual, was eerily quiet, but overwhelmingly helpful. She was a year older than Keeley, and obviously a wreck over the fact that Sidney, her best friend, had been in a coma for almost a month now. Anastasia was an alchemist- kind of like a diet version of a witch- and had known about the supernatural since the day she was born. Keeley didn't know how Anastasia's magic worked, only that she could only use it through rituals and potions, and that she was the only witch-type-person in town who would be willing to help Caroline, seeing as Bonnie had apparently decided to pitch another temper tantrum. (Keeley was really beginning to dislike Bonnie Bennett, although she would never admit it.)

Keeley's dad wasn't very pleased with her for returning home at four in the morning with a still-bleeding bite mark on her neck, but Alaric kept weird hours when he was out with Damon, anyway, so he wasn't one to talk. Or at least that's what Keeley told him.

The next day was a difficult one. Keeley had to sit through an entire day of school and a full shift at the Mystic Grille before she could give Caroline the daylight ring that had been sitting in her back pocket all day, but the blonde's reaction to the gift was well worth the wait. Caroline squealed, literally jumping Keeley, and hugged her so hard Keeley was worried her spine would break.

Stefan was waiting on Caroline's front lawn when the two girls finally left the house, and he let Caroline bask in the sunlight for a moment before saying, "Come on. Vampire Training starts now."

What followed was a sort of crash-course on all things _Dracula._ Keeley was treated to a front row view as Stefan taught Caroline how to hide and embrace her new vampire traits- and how to hunt. Rabbits, this time. Not humans.

The Boarding House was suspiciously dick-face free, and when she asked, Keeley was told that Damon was at Duke with Elena _and Keeley's dad,_ asking about _Isobel._

That stung. Isobel was _her mother_ , after all. Keeley hadn't even known there was anything more to question about Isobel, and now Elena and her dad were unearthing even more secrets that needed to stay dead and buried.

Keeley wanted nothing to do with the train wreck that was her parents' failed relationship, and her displeasure with Alaric for bringing it up again must have shown on her face, because on day two of Vampire school, Caroline declared that she couldn't handle Keeley's moping anymore, and that they were going to Tyler Lockwood's bonfire to cheer her up. Stefan wasn't too thrilled about it, grandpa that he was, but fuck him.

He drove them to the party, grumbling under his breath the entire time.

The party itself was basically every other bonfire Keeley and Caroline had attended together that winter, but Keeley kind of assumed it was strikingly different for Caroline, seeing as how she was a vampire and such now. The dazed look on her face when they climbed out of the car said as much, anyways.

Stefan grinned at her and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder to steady her. "Come on, Caroline," he said, waving at Keeley as he escorted the new vampire away from the crowd, probably to give her some sort of supernatural pep-talk.

Keeley wanted no part of that nonsense, so she grabbed herself a beer and did what any sane person would do when confronted with the fact that her best friend was now apparently a vampire: She started drinking.

And she couldn't quite remember when it happened, but at some point, Corbin Baker joined her.

As far as Keeley knew, Corbin Baker was the biggest fuck boy in the history of the universe. He was also Student Council president, and the most popular boy in school, but that was beside the point. Keeley had met him on her first night at Mystic Falls, when she was applying for a waitressing job at the Grille. Corbin was the first person she had met in town, as a matter of fact, and had introduced her to Sidney, as well.

He had also been trying to get in her pants that night.

Just like he was trying to do right now.

He was going about it as more of a joke this time, however, which she appreciated.

"I'm telling you, Keels," Corbin was saying, tapping the body of his beer against his shin, " _Sleepy Hollow_ is proof. Tim Burton is one of the greats!"

Keeley snorted, nose wrinkling and scoffed, "Bullshit he is. He ruined _Alice in Wonderland_ and _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory._ "

"What about _Big Eyes?_ " Corbin insisted. "That was good, right?"

"That was the most pretentious attempt at fictionalized nonfiction that I have ever seen."

Corbin "pssht"ed at her before getting unsteadily to his feet and nodding at her almost-empty beer. "I'm gonna get a refill. You want one?"

Keeley hesitated, every "don't let a boy near your drink" she'd ever heard from her dad running through her head.

Corbin saw her uncertainty and frowned. "What, are you worried I'm going to try and drug you?"

"I-" Keeley stopped herself and then shook her head. "Not- not really. Just instinct, ya' know?"

"Don't trust me?"

Well, no. Not really- She didn't have any reason to. Sure, Corbin was Sidney's friend- but so was Damon, and he murdered people on a regular basis. And even though Stefan was at the party and wouldn't let anything happen to her, Keeley didn't want to have to be saved from anything in the first place.

So she didn't say anything, and Corbin sighed loftily in return. "It's fine. I don't blame you." He paused, then added as an afterthought, "Not many people do trust me, as a matter of fact. I'll be back in a second."

As he left, Keeley's shoulders drooped, releasing tension she hadn't even known she was carrying, and she shifted her feet to a more relaxed first position, as opposed to the tensed fifth that she had been forcing.

People were always saying that Corbin, as nice as he seemed and as fun and caring as he could be, was bad news. To not get too close to him. And Keeley saw what they meant, but at the same time…

He was easy to talk to. That was all.

"Keeley?" When she turned, Stefan was looming over her shoulder in that way of his, a pensive look on his face. "Where's Caroline?"

Keeley frowned- something she was realizing she did quite a bit of nowadays. "I thought she was with you?"

Stefan's entire face went darker than usual. Definitely channeling the mother hen again, then. "She was, up until thirty minutes ago when she said she was going to find you."

"She's with Matt," Keeley blurted out just as Stefan sighed, "Do you know where Matt is?"

And Caroline, as expected, really was with Matt.

She was also currently sinking her fangs into his neck.

Keeley thought Stefan chucking Caroline across the clearing they were sitting in was a bit excessive, but she appreciated the sentiment all the same.

The thing was, Caroline wasn't supposed to go near Matt right now. According to Stefan, new vampires weren't so great around human loved ones. (Logan Fell being example A.) The new adrenaline high they were on, plus an overload of feelings led to bad things, and the gaping wound in Matt's neck was proof enough. Stefan had to literally throw Caroline over his shoulder and bodily carry her away from the scent of blood to calm her down, leaving Keeley with the mess that was Matt Donovan's current psyche.

"Holy shit," he kept muttering, as Keeley pressed her scarf against his throat to stop the bleeding. "Vampires are real. _Vampires are real."_

His eyes were freakishly bright, face flushed, and Keeley worried that he was about to slip into a panic attack, so she nodded and said, "Yes, they are, but they aren't evil, Matt."

"What do you mean they aren't evil, Keels?" Matt spluttered. "One of them just _bit me-_ Holy shit. Care. Care is-"

"Still Caroline," Keeley tried to tell him. "She's still your girlfriend, Matt, she's just… immortal now."

And wasn't that a mind fuck.

Caroline was going to outlive all of them.

Keeley would be eighty-nine and on her deathbed, and her best friend could still look as young and beautiful and vibrant as she did now.

Matt was shaking his head frantically, only succeeding in causing even more life's blood to leak out of his wound. Keeley attempted to chase the spills with her now-stained scarf, but he shook her off, getting to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily for a moment before gaining his bearings again. Keeley rose after him uncertainly, worried.

"But she's not. She's not our Caroline anymore, Keeley. She's a monster."

"No, she's not, Matt-!"

"She could have _killed me_!"

And that made Keeley stop short for a minute, because the same thing had happened to her not two nights ago.

But that "monster" was still her best friend, the one who hid on swing sets when she was sad and watched Nicholas Sparks movies like she was a blind woman seeing the sun for the first time. It was still Caroline in there, and Keeley wouldn't- couldn't- let herself abandon her.

Matt, it seemed, did not feel the same way, because in the five seconds that it took Keeley to come to that conclusion, he had disappeared.

* * *

The road trip to Duke was, in a word, total bullshit.

The dumbass bickering of the trio that was Alaric, Damon, and Elena aside, the car ride was peppered with the lingering smell of coffee that invaded Alaric's Range Rover, and the constant phone calls from his daughter, who wasn't thrilled about the fact that they had gone Isobel-hunting without her. Then there was Elena being attacked by Preternatural-Bitch-Vanessa, and more of Vanessa's cryptic bullshit, until finally, finally, she told them about the Sun and Moon Curse.

And the fact that Mason Lockwood was probably a werewolf.

Jenna Gilbert's barbecue was as good a venue as any to finally get the annoyance out of the way, now Damon knew how. The silver dagger in his jacket pocket was a comforting presence, staving off the hate he felt rising like bile in the back of his throat as he watched Mason shoot the shit with the other members of the Council in attendance.

"You look glum, Damon," Mason commented once the two men finally met. "Have anything to do with Sidney?"

"Yes," Damon replied stiffly. "You're being rather exuberant for someone whose ex-girlfriend is in a hospital."

Mason shrugged. "Hey, if Jenna can throw a party with her niece in a coma, why can't I enjoy myself at it?"

Damon let the fact that he had convinced Jenna to throw the party as a venue to kill Mason go unsaid, instead listening as Mason tacked on, "I wanted to apologize for the innuendos the last time we met. They seem a bit inappropriate now, considering the circumstances."

At Damon's stiff nod, he added, "Of course, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop my plan to ruin your life and get you killed."

Resisting the urge to grit his fangs together and then tear out Mason's throat with them, Damon decided: Now was as good a time as any to kill the mutt.

"Let's take this outside, in that case."

With that said, the two men made their excuses, collected their wits, and met again on the driveway, behind Sidney's beat-up Toyota.

Damon didn't even give Mason a chance to attack before he stabbed him through the chest with the silver dagger.

There was a gurgling-choking sound. Mason gave a full body shudder, falling to his knees, a look of pure shock on his face. The werewolf's hands shook as they reached up to grab at the knife, failing miserably and dropping back to his sides. Damon couldn't squelch the feeling of dominance that rose in his stomach, and instead reveled in it. Threat eliminated, he turned to head back into the party.

And as he turned, Mason grinned and pulled the knife out of his chest.

"Turns out Hollywood isn't as accurate as you thought it was, Damon," he commented, turning the bloodied weapon over in his hands before chucking it into the street. "Congratulations. You've just made yourself an even bigger enemy."

* * *

The hospital was quiet.

It was late, dark, and empty. The only sounds were the heartbeats of the patients, and the beeping of the machinery keeping them alive.

The night stretched on, fingertips twitched back into action, and a pair of green eyes fluttered open.

And I woke up.

* * *

 **A/N: I want to start this author's note by profusely thanking everyone for the overwhelming amount of support this story is getting right off the bat. I've been so overwhelmed by it, and I hope this chapter matches up to your expectations of me. I also wanted to apologize for the wait. This was a mammoth of a chapter, and unfortunately, it was almost entirely filler, so it was a very difficult one to write. I didn't realize how much of Sidney's character carried the story, so thank God she's awake now! Once again, thank you so much for all of your support. Words cannot describe how much I love you guys for that! The next chapter will, without a doubt, be uploaded on or by Halloween, so hold me to that promise! Thank you so much, and please leave a review if you feel so inclined!**

 **Guest review replies:**

 **Guest: Surprise! She's alive! Thank you for the review, love!**

 **Guest: Your wish came true, Sidney is very much awake, and very much pissed off. Thank you for the review, dearest!**


	3. Liar, Liar

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 3: Liar, Liar**

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was very, very thirsty. The dryness in my mouth clung so hard that my tongue scratched where it slid against my soft palate. I made a frantic clicking noise in the back of my throat, desperate for water- for sunlight- for _something._

It was too dark. The infinite black was closing in on me, suffocating. I couldn't breathe, could barely _think-_

My eyes snapped open. I hadn't even realized they were shut. They fluttered closed just as quickly, and I forced them open once again.

No. I couldn't go back to sleep again. Please, please don't make me go back to sleep again.

" _Please don't hurt me." "Please don't hurt me!" "Please please please please please please please PLEaSE-!"_

And in flashes, it came back to me. The fire, the house that I had been trapped and tortured in, and the knife that awaited me when I stepped through my front door.

And Damon, Damon, _Damon- Where was Damon?_

I screamed then. Couldn't stop screaming. Screamed so loud that the rest of the world went quiet around me.

Vaguely, I noticed the nursing staff rushing to contain my flailing limbs and keep my heart rate down. Someone came in with a syringe, and I felt a slight prick in the crook of my arm, and the next thing I knew, my world fell into darkness once again.

* * *

The next time I woke up was slightly less dramatic than the first time. (Read: _Slightly_ less dramatic.)

Of course, most of what little drama there was came from Elena, who was sobbing so hard that I thought she was going to throw up when she entered my hospital room and flung herself at me. I had to bodily push her away, seeing as her elbow was digging right into my stab wound and I really, really didn't want to have to stay in the hospital any longer than I needed to.

Jenna and Jeremy followed in after, at a markedly more sedated pace. And then Elena told me:

Jeremy had tried to commit suicide.

Once again, I felt like my entire world had stopped.

Why? Why would Jeremy try to do that to himself?

He was over his depressive episode! The psychiatrist had sworn up and down… And he had been doing so _good,_ too! He had started drawing again, had taken an interest in the family history- in Slaying-

And in vampires, too.

 _Anna._

Jenna left, assuming, correctly, that me and my siblings needed to talk to each other alone. The minute the door closed behind her, I shifted, side paining me, and opened my mouth to speak-

Jeremy beat me to the punch.

"I know, okay?" he groused. "It was a stupid decision and it didn't work and she hasn't tried to get back in contact with me anyway, so just don't. Elena and Jenna have already been up my ass about it, I don't need you freaking out, too."

My shoulders rose in tension and then I deflated with a helpless puff of air. "You tried to kill yourself, Jer," I pointed out. "It's kind of hard for me to not freak out about it."

"Okay, no. Technically it wasn't suicide. Technically I was just trying to turn myself into a vampire."

"You deep throated an entire bottle of heavy-duty pain meds, Jer."

"Tomato, to-mah-to."

I scowled at him, and he sent me a weak grin, a clear indication that he wasn't going to talk to me about this. I wondered if he was going to talk to _anyone_ about it. I knew Jenna was definitely sending his ass back to therapy. Elena glared at us in that motherly way of hers.

"I'm not dropping this," I warned, too tired to pursue the matter at the moment.

Jeremy smirked at me, looking remarkably like Damon at that moment. "I wouldn't expect you to."

"So aside from Martha Dunstock over here's little blaze of glory, what else happened while I was out?" I asked, flinching when Elena's glare turned a thousand times scarier.

"Don't you think joking about our little brother attempting suicide is a bit crass, Sid?"

I immediately felt guilty. She was right, and I told her as much. My nonconsensual month-long nap had made me cranky, I guessed.

Elena's face softened, and I thought she was about to cry again. "It's alright," she told me. "I'm just glad you're back."

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "I'm heading out," he told us, getting to his feet. He hesitated before leaning down, kissing my cheek. "I'm happy you're back, Sid. Love you."

"Love you too," I replied back, stunned, as he left the room.

Jeremy Gilbert was not one for displays of affection.

My little brother had, had a rough time since our parents died the previous year. His grades had started slipping and he had gotten in with the wrong crowd: A crowd that led to a lot of weed-smoking, and a gigantic crush on Vicki Donovan, who had been bitten and turned into a vampire, later attacking my brother and I- which was how I had found out about the supernatural in the first place.

Vicki attacking me led to Stefan shoving a stake through her stomach and Damon wiping all trace of her days as a monster from Jeremy's memory. And you'd think, after all of that, that Jeremy had earned himself a break- from the supernatural, at least- but he didn't turn out to be so lucky, getting mixed up in another vampire named Anna's plan to open the tomb Katherine had supposedly been trapped in. I wasn't sure exactly what had happened between the two of them, but I had a feeling Anna's fake affection for my brother somehow turned into real affection, leading to his obsession with the undead, and subsequent suicide attempt.

I had saved Anna from Damon in the tomb, and again from my Uncle John not long before I had been forced into a coma, and now I regretted both decisions.

If I hadn't saved her, my brother wouldn't have tried to kill himself.

Elena was staring at me, concerned, as usual, and raised an eyebrow when I glanced over at her.

"What?" I asked.

She shrugged and said, "Has Damon come to see you yet?"

"No," I replied, which was, in and of itself, somewhat of a miracle.

Damon Salvatore and I… Well, we were a complicated pair, let's put it that way. I wasn't quite sure what to think of our relationship; never had been. But the last time I had seen him, I had run into a burning building to save his life, and I was pretty damn sure…

I was pretty damn sure that I-

Well, you know. When you spend that much time with a person- and you go through that kind of stuff with them, and, you know, sleep with them, you're bound to feel- _that_.

But whether or not I did or didn't feel anything was completely irrelevant for an entirely long list of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that his psychotic ex-girlfriend who he happened to be obsessed with was back in town and out for blood. Then there was the fact that, you know, he was an evil vampire and I was a monster-hunter who slayed said evil vampires.

Also he was kind of a dick.

Elena frowned at me and pressed, "So, are you two-?"

"No!" I said quickly, shaking my head and then immediately regretting it when I felt like I was going to throw up. "Nope. Don't ask me what you're about to ask me."

"It's an easy question."

"A question that I don't know the answer to," I told her petulantly. "Can we change the subject? Please? What's going on with Katherine?"

Elena shrugged. "I don't know," she told me. "She's been weirdly quiet for the past couple of weeks. She attacked me, Stefan, and Damon, and then just up and disappeared. It's like she gave up."

"If only we were that lucky," I mumbled.

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Elena sighed.

"Wouldn't what be nice?" a voice said from the general direction of the door.

And there he was.

Damon stared at me, something burning and flickering at the edges of those gunmetal-blue eyes, and I felt my heart thump almost painfully in my chest. My lips tingled with the ghosts of kisses past, and my fingers twitched where they lay on the bed sheets, itching to tangle in his hair and never let go again.

Only Damon could turn me into this much of a sap.

Elena glanced between us, blushed, and got to her feet.

"I'll give you two some privacy," she stated, and then she was gone, and we were alone.

We stared at each other.

Damon looked… like an artist's rendering of him, I guess. Lifeless, somehow. His hair wasn't quite as glossy, nor were his cheek bones as chiseled. But his eyes still pierced through me like arrows made of ice, and as I watched, the life came back to him, and he straightened, shoulders pulling back as he prowled toward me.

"Hey," I squeaked, watching him like the doe watches the wolf as he sunk down onto the bed next to me. "Long time no see."

Damon glared at me. "You," he growled, and then shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I thought I lost you."

My throat was dry again, and taking the opportunity to look away from his steel-flint of a stare, I dove for the water bottle sitting on my bedside table. "Well, you didn't. I'm fine."

Damon was glaring at me again, and as I watched, one eyebrow slowly rose to position, and he leered at me. "Are you really going to ignore what happened the night you were…?" He trailed off uncomfortably and cleared his throat.

I blinked at him. "You mean when I ran into a burning building for you? I wasn't aware that implied some earth-shattering change," I told him, biting my lip in confusion.

"No, what happened afterward."

"I got stabbed?"

Damon huffed and glared at me. I raised my eyebrows, trying to let him know how God damn confused I felt (seriously, what the fuck was he talking about?), and finally decided to let him know: "I don't remember anything that happened after the fire, Damon. What the hell are you talking about?"

He looked at me like someone had just killed his puppy. "You don't-?" Damon shook his head and frowned. "Nothing?" he pressed. "Absolutely nothing after the fire?"

I shook my head. "No. I only know Katherine was the one who stabbed me because Elena told me."

"Damn," Damon cursed, leaning back until his shoulders rested against the head board.

There was silence for a few more minutes then, Damon's eyes so wide and hurt that he actually seemed like he was twenty-one instead of about two-hundred, and me feeling decidedly uncomfortable.

"Did something happen after the fire that-?" I bridged, and Damon shook his head.

"Forget it," he said in a low voice. "Or keep forgetting it, I don't- Shit." He sighed heavily, glaring at the vase of roses on my bedside table like he expected them to burst into flames.

"Who sent those?" I asked, desperate to change the subject. I didn't want to touch what may or may not have transpired between us with a ten-foot pole.

Damon harrumphed and turned his head, staring placidly out the window. "Your dick-face of an ex-boyfriend."

My nose wrinkled in disgust. I hated roses. I thought they were cliché. "You're going to have to be more specific than that," I told him.

"Mason Lockwood," Damon spat. I could see the disgust written across his face at the name.

What the hell had happened while I was in a coma?

"That dickwipe is back in town?" I asked, and then glared at the flowers. "Do me a favor and burn those. They might have herpes or something."

Damon laughed at me, but did as I said. I was glad to see him lighten up a bit. I hated it when he got all intense and Edward Cullen-y. Although I guessed it might have come with the territory of being a Tortured Mega Hot Vampire TM.

"The hell happened between you two?" Damon asked, leaning against the wall next to the trashcan. "He kept bragging about stealing your virginity?"

I snorted, and then groaned, digging the heels of my palm into my eyes. "He's still a douche, then."

"Did you know he's a werewolf?"

I sat up and then immediately regretted it, stitches pulling slightly. I ignored the pain and bit my lip. "The fuck? When did that happen?"

God damn. I had only been awake for less than twenty-four hours, and already, people were telling me that my world was going to hell in a fucking handbasket.

"I don't fucking know. But he is one, is trying to fucking murder me, and wants you fucking back."

"Easy tiger," I told him hastily, watching as the red eyes faded in and faded out just as quickly. "Chill with the fuckings, alright? I'm not getting back together with Werewolf-Mc-Doucher-Face. Never happening, ever again. Like, ever."

"He was that bad?"

I shrugged, ignoring the pain the movement caused, and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess," I replied. "I dunno… He dropped out of college when I was fifteen and came to live with the Lockwoods. We hit it off and went on a few dates, and I slept with him on Halloween. He left the next morning on a road trip to 'find himself', and called to tell me two days later. I haven't heard from him since."

"What a dick."

"I know, right?"

The fact that Mason Lockwood, my sophomore year boyfriend, was a murderous werewolf now was a hard one to wrap my head around. I mean, we had known that werewolves existed- and Carson had trained me how to Slay them, if the need arose- but I had doubted any would come to Mystic Falls. From what I knew about them, they were pretty territorial, and didn't leave their pack grounds most of the time.

Did Mason even have a pack?

And if he did, was Mystic Falls their territory?

I didn't know the answers, but I had a feeling we would find out in typical fashion: At the most inopportune time, from the most inopportune person.

I had only been awake for one day, and already the insanity was starting.

* * *

When a girl who looked exactly like Elena Gilbert slid into the seat across from hers at Sundays with Susie, Anastasia Graham knew immediately who it was.

"Katherine Pierce," said the vampire, flashing Anastasia a murderous grin and holding out a hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Anastasia frowned, terror rising like ice in her veins. "You'll forgive me if I don't shake your hand."

Katherine shrugged, and then smiled, placing the appendage back on the table. "I suppose I will." She stared at Anastasia for a minute, and then leaned forward, planting her elbows on the table top. "I'll cut to the chase here," Katherine said placidly, "I know who your father works for."

 _Oh, shit._

Anastasia felt the blood drain from her face, and Katherine grinned at her, teeth sharpening into fangs and eyes turning as red as her lipstick.

"If you tell him I am in town," Katherine continued with a smile, pleasant as can be, "I will kill not only the two of you, but your mother as well. Clear?"

"Clear," Anastasia said in a hoarse whisper, feeling like she was about to throw up the chai latte she had just drunk.

Katherine smiled serenely and nodded, and in the next second she was gone.

She knew. _She knew about her dad's boss._

And she was going to kill Anastasia's mom.

Anastasia panicked, wrestling her phone out of her purse, and scrolling to the only number she had never called before.

Gwendolyn Carter had met Oscar Graham in the 1980's. They got married right out of college, and had Anastasia not soon after, moving to Mystic Falls once she was born. Anastasia had, had a happy childhood, spending all of her time with best friend Sidney Gilbert, until her twelfth birthday, when her dad had told the family the truth:

He was an alchemist, and so was Anastasia.

Alchemy was a lighter form of witchcraft. Alchemists couldn't channel magic through the natural elements, like witches could, only through man-made artifacts: spells, potions, rituals, etc. Either way, they had magic in them, and Gwendolyn couldn't deal with it.

She left town with the Mystic Grille bartender, and had been trying to get in touch with Anastasia ever since.

And Anastasia didn't care about her mother. She had left them, left her, left her with a dad who was gone more often than not and crippling loneliness that ached in her gut like a stab wound- But Anastasia couldn't let her die.

On the other line, a woman's voice said, "Hello?"

Relief hit Anastasia like a cannonball, and she slumped. Gwendolyn was alright… Anastasia had just wanted to know that Gwendolyn was still alive-

"Anastasia? Is that you?"

God dammit.

"Um." Anastasia hesitated, and then replied, "Yeah, it is."

"Oh my God!" Gwendolyn cried, and then she went off: "I thought I'd never hear from you again! How are you? We haven't talked in years- how's your father? Are you still in Mystic Falls? Oh, I bet you're so beautiful now. I've missed you so much, sweetie-"

"Um…"

Panic sat heavy in Anastasia's chest. Her heart was pounding. She hadn't realized, when she called, that Gwendolyn would take the opportunity to start a relationship again. The idea terrified Anastasia! This person was a complete stranger to her. What the hell was she supposed to say?

So she didn't say anything.

She hung up.

* * *

I had a chip on my shoulder and scars all over my skin, and I knew for a fact that I absolutely would not be staying in the hospital for any longer than absolutely necessary.

Doctor Fell wasn't happy with me, but she consented and gave Jenna a Bible's worth of things to look out for once I was home: Slow introduction to sights and sounds, go to the eye doctor to make sure she won't need glasses and that everything up there is working alright, don't be surprised if she's absent minded for the first couple of weeks. The end result was that I would be home and free at the end of the weekend.

All praise to the highest.

I was really beginning to hate hospitals.

Sleep was elusive the second night I had been awake for. I think a part of me was a little scared to let go- scared that I wouldn't be able to wake up again. It was stupid, I knew, but still. I was awake, scrap booking, at around two in the morning.

That's when Katherine came to call.

You could hardly blame me for trying to shoot her.

Of course, she dodged the wooden bullet (courtesy of the gun that Carson had stashed under my pillow when he came to visit earlier that day), but it's the thought that counts.

"Well, isn't this a warm welcome," Katherine sneered, brushing nonexistent dirt off of her jeans. She glanced up at me and grinned. "You must be little Miss Sidney Gilbert. Nice to meet you when I'm not trying to kill you."

"Can you, like, go fuck yourself?" I shot back, not interested in playing the snarky-vampire-pleasantries game that Damon seemed to bury himself in every five minutes.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "How rude," she purred. "And here I came to apologize for stabbing you."

I snorted. "Apology not accepted. Fuck you. Why are you really here?"

I had dealt with quite a lot of vampire bullshit, courtesy of the Salvatore brothers, over the past sixth months, and I think maybe I had hit my limit. Most of what I had gone through was the combined fault of Katherine being a psychotic asshole, Damon being a mythic bitch, and my dumbass feelings for said mythic bitch, and I was fucking done. Fuck the sarcasm, fuck the evil plans, and fuck the lies and general jackass-ery of vampires. Katherine was in town for a reason, and I wanted to know what that reason was _now._

Katherine sighed heavily, glaring at me, and spat out, "Well, I was planning on killing you, but I can't do that anymore, seeing as I don't want to have to have you around for the rest of forever."

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that," I told her, raising an eyebrow.

"Damon gave you his blood, genius."

My eyes widened, and I felt my veins tense and leap up against my skin. My heart stuttered and then started again, and I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood-

Damon's blood.

Oh _hell_ fucking no!

"You're lying," I grit out, anger coloring my cheeks, "Damon wouldn't have done that- he knows I never want to become a vampire."

"Think again, sweetheart," Katherine snipped gleefully. "He gave you his blood right in front of me- so I turned your little friend, Caroline. I guess you could say, then, that Caroline's current… _condition_ is your fault."

Katherine smiled prettily at me, and I glared back. She was trying to provoke me, I knew, but I couldn't quite figure out why. And like hell I was going to let her know how angry she was making me.

"Is there a reason for your obsession with killing me, or are you just a psychopathic bitch?" I quipped, crossing my arms over my still-slightly-sore chest.

Katherine fake-thought for a moment and then shrugged. "A little bit of both, I suppose," she mused. "Though Damon being in love with you is a big factor."

"Damon's not in love with me," I answered automatically, used to it by now.

And Katherine actually rolled her eyes and _laughed at me._ "That's a lie, and you know it," she chortled. "You and I both heard what he said to you the last night we saw each other."

"I don't remember-" I began, shifting in visible discomfort. I wanted her to stop talking, didn't want her to bring up what we both knew she had overheard-

"Bullshit you don't. Stop playing dumb, and admit that you can remember everything."

I glared at her, and bit my lip. "Fine," I grunted. "I can remember everything he said to me that night. But it doesn't matter, because I don't love Damon like that. He's my friend, that's all."

"Do you ever tell the truth?" Katherine groaned. "Your fear will be the death of you, sweetheart, but I suppose that would make my job a little easier." She sniffed and turned for the door, pausing before pushing it open. "Thanks for keeping Damon warm for me."

And with that she was gone, and I had come to a very firm conclusion.

I really, really fucking hated Katherine Pierce.

* * *

So, I could remember everything that had happened between me and Damon before I had been stabbed.

The kiss, the confession, the "I love you…" All of it.

And I was fucking terrified.

People who loved me didn't tend to stick around for very long. I didn't want Damon's name to join the long list of people who had left, or who had died. Not to mention the whole Slayer-and-evil-vampire thing, him being a murderous psychopath, and the fact that me loving him could get a ton of people killed (thank you, Katherine). Then there was the fact that he was kind of a gigantic asshole and I was worried about the person I would turn into if I let myself get into a relationship with him.

And I couldn't let him know that I knew because then he would want answers and commitments- answers and commitments that I couldn't give him, because _I couldn't let myself love him back._

The drama niggled at the back of my mind as I was checked out of the hospital and sent back into the insanity that was Mystic Falls High. I fended off a lot of "Jesus, twice in two months?" comments with smiles and what-can-you-do-about-it shrugs, and nearly fell over backwards when Caroline took the opportunity to remind me that rehearsals for the musical I had agreed to be in, _Dracula,_ were about to begin, and so help me God, I wasn't allowed to back out or she would bite my face off.

"You'd think she wouldn't want anything to do with a musical about vampires now that she _is_ a vampire," I grumbled as Anastasia unlocked and swung open her front door.

We had decided to head back to her house after my first day back at school, and you could say that I was more than just a little bit grumpy. Almost about to cry, actually. Carson had taken me aside after class to tell me that I wouldn't be able to play on the soccer team for the rest of the season because of my injuries. I was never going to play on the high school team again, and that hurt badly.

Anastasia shrugged at me. "I think she's just trying to pretend she's still human," Anastasia theorized. "And I don't really blame her. What happened to her sucks."

I shifted my weight uncomfortably, and took a seat on the striped couch. I couldn't help but feel that some of what had happened to Caroline was my fault, even though I knew I wasn't the one who had forced the vampire blood down her throat. If I had just stayed away from Damon in the first place, Caroline's life wouldn't have been ruined. Neither would mine, for that matter.

But then I wouldn't have gotten to know Damon, beautiful scars and all, and my life wouldn't be nearly so exciting. And I did care about him. That was one thing I would admit to- I cared. More than I should, probably.

"I wish she'd let me back out," I sighed heavily. Caroline and choreographer, Keeley, had roped me into playing the Mina to Caroline's Lucy. "Don't you think getting stabbed twice in two months works as a get-out-of-jail-free card?"

"Apparently not," Anastasia lamented conspiratorially. "But you did promise."

I sighed again. "I know."

Like it or not, I had signed my life away to the devils that were Caroline Forbes and Keeley Saltzman, and now I had to deal with the consequences.

"Can we watch _Heathers_?" I asked, desperate to get my mind off the train wreck that was my life right now. "I've been quoting them a lot lately."

Anastasia chortled and raised an eyebrow, flipping through the mail she had grabbed on our way in. "Are you sure you were quoting them, or are you just too much like Veronica Sawyer?"

"Neither," I joked, "both. Who cares. Fuck me gently with a chainsaw. Can we watch it?"

No answer.

"What's your damage, 'Stasia?" I quipped, getting up from the couch and glancing over her shoulder at what she was holding-

A package of papers from the Boston Conservatory of the Arts.

"Oh, shit," I blurted, blinking rapidly.

College was still a thing. I had completely forgotten.

Anastasia let out a strangled whimper, stumbling over to the couch I had been sitting on and collapsing. I followed, excitement for her buzzing at my fingertips.

"What are you waiting for?" I demanded. "Open it!"

With fumbling hands, she did.

"It's an acceptance letter!" Anastasia squealed. "I'm going to Boston!"

We screamed, we cried, we danced, and Anastasia looked happier than I had seen her since Jeff Dawson had asked her out our junior year.

"I'm calling Corbin," I declared, fishing my phone out of my back pocket. "We're getting everyone over at his house, and we're going to drink ourselves into a celebratory stupor!"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Anastasia laughed-

And the door opened.

And Mr. Graham walked in.

Anastasia and her father had a…. interesting relationship, to be sure, if I can put it delicately enough. Bluntly speaking, he was hardly ever home, and Anastasia was lonely and insecure as shit because of him. My train wreck of a best friend had been alone at home since right after Halloween, all through the holidays, and I wasn't too happy with her dad for leaving her.

Neither was Anastasia, it seemed.

"Dad," she said stiffly, previous excitement long, long gone, "you're home."

Mr. Graham gave her a stilted nod, circles dark beneath ice blue eyes. "It's good to see you, Anastasia." His gaze focused on me. "Sidney."

I shifted uncomfortably, picking at the sleeve of my sweatshirt. Something told me the two of them needed to talk- without me here.

"Well, um, I'm gonna head home," I ventured, slinging my book bag over my shoulder and grabbing my keys from the coffee table. "It's- uh- almost time for me to take my meds, so…" Neither of them were paying any attention to me. "Yeah. Bye."

And was it just me, or did a cold chill pass through the room when I left?

* * *

I was just a little shocked out of my gourd to see Elena and Stefan fighting.

It was another Founder's Whatever the Fuck Day, only this one took place in a park, not a mansion, and was more about cleaning up the city than drowning ourselves in alcohol and money. Keeley and Caroline had hitched a ride with me, both of them hinting not-so-subtly that if I backed out of the musical I was as good as dead, and we arrived at the gathering about an hour or two in. We stumbled into the park in time to see Elena shout something at Stefan before storming off. He carded a hand through his hair, stared at her, then shook his head and turned in the opposite direction.

My jaw dropped.

"What happened to the dream couple?" I questioned, pointing a thumb over at the scene of the fight.

Caroline frowned, fiddling with her brand spanking new daylight-ring, and shrugged. "I don't know," she answered. "Elena hasn't told us much, but apparently she and Stefan broke up while you were out."

"The fuck?" I said, because that was about the only thing I could say.

Stefan and Elena, from my experience, were tighter than airport security. But drugs still managed to find a way onto jet planes, so I guessed even the Mystic Falls golden couple could have its bad days. But this… just didn't make sense. Elena would have told me if she and Stefan had broken up, or had any troubles that might have led to them breaking up. And she didn't seem as heartbroken as I knew she would be if that relationship ever came to an end.

So what the hell was going on?

There wasn't much time to question that. Caroline put us to work almost immediately, and I spent the rest of the morning schlepping around the park, picking up trash and dog poop and doing generally stupid tasks while cursing under my breath a lot. Weren't near-death experiences supposed to exempt you from stuff like this?

Apparently not. But, thank God, the clean-up was done by midafternoon, and the rest of the day was dedicated to shooting the shit around the park and celebrating the community, or something like that.

I saw him during lunch.

I was sitting on a park bench, devouring a turkey sandwich like my life depended on it. The pain medications I was taking made me ravenous. I closed my eyes as I took a swig out of my water bottle, and when I opened them, Mason Lockwood was leaned up against a tree trunk a few yards away, staring right at me. He waved, and I fought back the urge to flip him off, getting up and moving over to talk to Mrs. Lockwood, instead.

About an hour later, the mindfucks started again.

"Sherriff Forbes is trying to kill Damon and Stefan," Keeley told me, having jerked me away from Mrs. Lockwood (now Mayor, God save us) with zero explanation. "We kind of sort of need you to save their asses?"

I nodded, grabbing the stake strapped to my un-injured side under my flannel. "We?" I asked, mentally running through any and all protective maneuvers I would need to take to not injure the humans.

"Me, Caroline, and Elena," Keeley clarified.

"Do we know _why_ they're trying to kill the Salvatores?"

Keeley shook her head, leading me in the general direction of the woods. We started running, then. "No. I'm guessing Sherriff Forbes found out they're vampires?"

Yep, that would do it.

When we caught up to Elena, she was standing outside the Lockwood slave quarters, holding a stake (what the fuck? She didn't know how to fight with that), and trying her damndest to keep Mason Lockwood from strangling her.

"Go find Caroline," I barked at a stunned Keeley, and then I was dashing forward.

I turned my stake over in my hand, using it as a buffer to knock Mason's hands away from Elena's throat. I body-slammed her away from the werewolf, transferring the stake to my left hand, and clipped Mason's chiseled jaw with my fist. He snapped back at the hit, and before his eyes closed, I caught a hint of wolfish yellow.

He grinned at me. "Sidney," he purred, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Elena slipping into the Lockwood slave quarters, presumably where the Salvatores were. "Long time no see. Did you get my flowers?"

I frowned, flipping the stake over a finger before slipping it into my back pocket. It wasn't going to do much good against a werewolf. I wished I had brought my gun.

"Yes, I got your flowers," I ground out. "I threw them in the trash the minute I saw them."

"Are you still mad at me?" Mason asked.

"Well, you did break up with me through a phone call," I replied petulantly, because _that wasn't the God damn point he had just tried to strangle my sister holy shit-_

"Technically, we never broke up," Mason pointed out. "Technically, we've been on a break for the past two years."

"Technically, go fuck yourself," I snipped back.

"I'd rather fuck you."

I saw red. "Okay, that's it," I blurted, and the next thing I knew, he was on the ground, I was on top of them, hands poised to break his jaw, and my stab wound was screaming in pain.

Mason didn't look the slightest bit bothered. "This is a familiar position."

So I broke his nose open with the heel of my palm.

"Can you, like, shut up?" I growled, ignoring the blood dribbling down my hand. "What the fuck are you doing here, Mason?"

"I live here."

I fixed him with a blood-curdling glare. "I mean what are you doing here _now._ And don't give me some bullshit excuse about coming back for me- I know you don't care. You being here has something to do with the Sun and Moon curse."

Elena and Alaric had told me about the curse the first day I was awake for, and it had been reeling through my mind ever since. The supernatural were going to come crawling because of it, and somehow, my sister was at the center of the mess. Something told me Mason's intentions here, where she lived, weren't as superficial or innocent as he'd have me believe.

He just raised an eyebrow at me, not letting on. Behind us, I heard a clatter, and muted voices, and then people were coming out of the Lockwood slave quarters and Elena's voice was calling my name.

"I'm here!" I called back. Stefan and Damon were over me, and Stefan was pulling me off of Mason and Damon was slamming the werewolf into a tree.

"Are you alright?" Keeley asked, helping pull me to my feet. I hadn't noticed before, but blood was pounding hard against the seam in my skin, and my breaths were coming out shallower than usual.

Probably, tackling a werewolf right after waking up from a coma hadn't been a good idea.

Probably, getting to break Mason's nose was mother fucking worth it.

As I straightened myself out again, retrieving my hat from where it had fallen in the scuffle, I saw Mason and Damon bantering back and forth, too low for me to hear. Caroline was supporting the unconscious weight of her mother, looking like she was about to cry, and Elena had a bleeding bite mark on her wrist. Stefan stepped forward and forced his arm between Mason and Damon's chests.

"Walk away, man," he said to Mason. "Just walk away."

And Mason backed away, hands raised, and then he was gone.

* * *

Walking into the Boarding House felt more like coming home than walking into my own living room had. And when Damon dropped into his favorite armchair, glass of Bourbon in hand, and I splayed out onto the couch, and everyone else left, I finally felt like things were back to normal.

And then I remembered the secret that hung between the two of us- the words Damon had said the last time I had seen him before the coma- and I realized that, probably, things would never be normal between the two of us ever again.

Damon and I stared at each other for a very long time, and when he leaned forward, mind made up, I braced myself for impact.

"Siddie," he breached, "I figured I should tell you what happened between us before you were stabbed."

I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't raise my head to meet them. Instead, I fiddled with the hem of my flannel, fingers occasionally raising to brush against the space between my ribs where the kitchen knife had entered my body. He didn't know that I knew- which was ridiculous, because he was so God damn good at reading me… And he was about to tell me everything that had happened but I already _knew_ what had happened and I just wanted to forget about this and pretend like everything between us was still normal-

"I kissed you. And told you that I loved you. And I do love you-"

"I know you do!" I blurted out, unable to take it anymore.

There was sheer quiet. I slapped my hands over my mouth, flushed bright red, and glanced up at Damon. There was an expression of actual, authentic shock on his face- a sight not often seen. Had the situation been less dramatic, I probably would have been tempted to take a picture.

"I remember everything you said to me that night," I finally confessed.

More silence. It was killing me. Did he hate me now for keeping that secret?

"I didn't say anything because I was scared," I babbled, hands visibly shaking where they sat in my lap. "I didn't want things to change between us- and I'm terrified by the idea of being in a relationship right now. And- and- We just can't be together, Damon. We _can't_!"

Still no answer. I swallowed down bile, feeling like I was about to throw up.

"I mean- aside from the fact that I'm a vampire slayer, and you're a vampire who kills people- And don't even get me started on the whole Buffy-Angel thing- that entire relationship was bullshit. _Anyway._ I'm human. I'm gross and weak and I die really quickly, and I have zero desire to become a vampire. And speaking of which, Katherine told me you gave me your blood- which I _do not fucking appreciate-_ and she's also trying really, really hard to kill me, specifically because she thinks you're in love with me. And the people I love have a tendency to die or be in danger of dying and I care about you too much for that-"

And somehow, someway, Damon had gotten up without me noticing, and had started kissing me.

I nearly melted. Damon's kisses were addictive. But the thing is, I didn't really want to kiss him right then. I needed to talk to him, needed to make him understand…

"Damon, stop," I mumbled, trying to pull back, but his hand fastened in my hair and melded his lips back over mine.

That pissed me off.

I shoved at his chest, trying to gain some leverage to pull back, but no dice. Even though I was stronger than most humans, he was still a vampire. And vampire trumps human any day of the week.

I turned my head, giving my mouth some breathing room, and bit out, "Seriously, Damon. Cut it out!"

I was a pushover, I knew. I couldn't say no to the people I loved, and I was maybe too forgiving (Anastasia's and my fight earlier that year being exhibit A), but even I had my limits. And Damon had just pushed them to the breaking point.

When he showed no signs of stopping his pretty-much assault, I wedged my foot in between the two of his and swiped to the left, jerking the rest of my body to the right. Damon, preoccupied with kissing me, went down, and I stumbled as far away from him as I could get without leaving the room.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded, face flushed, wiping at my swollen mouth.

Damon chuckled darkly, and he wasn't _my_ Damon- he was the other one. The one that had thrown a man off of a water tower for threatening me, and had killed his friend in cold blood for betraying him. This was the Damon that I was afraid of.

"That was me trying to make you understand," he insisted, voice taking on the kind of tone that had drawn Eve to the apple tree. "What we have between us isn't something you see every day- I've been alive for two hundred years, and you're the first person to make me feel this way. I am nothing without you. You've seen me at my lowest, and you haven't turned away. You haven't tried to change me, have stuck by my side through it all, and I won't let you pretend-"

"You won't _let me,_ " I hissed, biting my lip. Blood trickled down from the wound and I brushed it away angrily. "You don't have to _let me_ do anything, Damon! You don't own me!"

He was still staring at me with that God damned _I know more than you because I'm a super old vampire_ look on his face, and I just couldn't fucking deal with it right now. So I scowled and turned on the heel of my boot, storming out of the Boarding House. And as I flew out the door, I could have sworn I saw him grin.

* * *

Stefan Salvatore thought Sidney Gilbert was the best thing to ever happen to his brother.

He also happened to think that his brother was the worst thing to ever happen to Sidney Gilbert.

The problem with Damon, Stefan mused, staring at the canopy stretched over his bed, was that he loved a little too deeply. With Damon, it was an all or nothing type love. He didn't fall often, but when he did, he fell hard- and Sidney had just round house kicked him off of a cliff.

As Stefan listened to the fight going on below him, he couldn't help but think that Sidney had a point. She had been through hell and back since Damon had come to town- most of the time for Damon or because of him. And Stefan knew Sidney loved his brother more than anyone had ever loved him before, but Stefan also knew that a relationship between them could end with one or both of them dead.

Damon was possessive over the people he cared about: jealous, easily angered. He tended to not care about things like consent when there were lives at stake, and he was so manipulative he could probably have weaseled his way into the Oval Office. And Sidney was volatile, easily manipulated, often clueless about the subtext of what was going on around her.

Sidney may have been one of the strongest people Stefan knew, but Damon made her weak, and Stefan didn't know how she would fare in the kind of relationship his brother wanted from her.

A door slammed, and a car engine roared to life. As the sound of tires crunching over gravel pulled out of the driveway, Stefan sighed.

Time for damage control.

But Damon was grinning when Stefan walked into the living room.

"She'll come around," Damon insisted, not looking at Stefan. He wandered over to the crystal decanter of whiskey and unscrewed the top. "She loves me."

Stefan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Yes, Sidney did love Damon- but that didn't necessarily mean she was going to allow a relationship to grow between them. Sidney was stubborn, Stefan knew, because her sister was the exact same way.

"Do you know what Sidney wants though?" Stefan asked, because he couldn't very well s _ay_ that Sidney was probably worried about how a balance of power would play out in a relationship between her and Damon- they all were. But Stefan didn't want to get staked so he didn't explain that concept.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "You're going to have to elaborate, Steffie," he said in that patronizing tone, taking a swig from his glass.

"I mean," Stefan breached, eyeing Damon's person suspiciously. No stakes that he could see, but that didn't mean he didn't have one on him. "You don't exactly have a history of taking what she wants into consideration, Damon."

Damon snorted. "That's because what she wants is usually stupid and dangerous, and I'm not going to let her get herself killed."

"You forced her to drink your blood- twice."

"She was dying both times."

"You tried to erase her memories back when she first found out about vampires."

"Because she was acting like an insane person."

"You signed her up for the Council without asking her."

"I needed her help."

"You've kissed her without her consent, multiple times."

That, Stefan knew, threw Damon for a loop. Making advances on a lady without her consent was wrong, and the Southern gentleman in both of them knew it. And, Stefan hoped, it would show Damon that, even if he loved Sidney, the way he treated her sometimes wasn't right. In the long run, it might prove to Damon that if he wanted to win Sidney, he had to treat her as an equal. Or at least Stefan hoped it would.

Damon was scowling now, and Stefan felt it best to leave before he got staked in the chest.

Again.

"I'll leave," he muttered, turning back to the staircase.

Damon didn't say a word, and Stefan had a horrible feeling that his brother was about to go to awful lengths to try and make Sidney his.

* * *

I was royally fucking pissed off.

Damon didn't own me. He didn't control me, he didn't get to decide how I did and didn't feel, and he certainly didn't get to fucking decide if I did or didn't get into a relationship! It wasn't the God damned 1800's anymore! Women weren't property!

 _I_ wasn't property!

"Well, don't you look happy."

The sarcastic tone made me stop short, halfway up the steps to my front door, and I turned, blood boiling.

"Fuck off, Mason," I bit out around grit teeth. I was so angry that night that one wrong word from my ex-boyfriend could lead to a stake in his gut, never mind that he wasn't a vampire.

Mason raised an eyebrow at me, pulling away from where he was leaned against a street lamp. I tensed as he stepped onto my driveway, hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"Everything alright?" he inquired.

 _No,_ I felt like screaming at him, _everything is not fucking alright! The man I may or may not be in love with is acting like a primeval douche bag, and you're like five thousand miles too close to me right now and I just want everyone with a penis to leave me the fuck alone, because for some reason they've all been acting like total fucking head cases ever since I woke up from my God damn coma!_

"Go to hell," I said instead.

But as I turned back to the front door and inserted the key into the lock, I changed my mind.

Damon didn't fucking own me.

And I was about to prove it.

To his credit, Mason didn't act surprised when I kissed him. He just went along with it. And when I led him into the house and up the stairs to my bedroom, he didn't say a word, more preoccupied with wrangling my jeans and boots off of me. And by the time we were in my bed and my underwear was hanging in shreds off of the door knob, he was positively feral.

My flannel, bra, and tank top didn't come off, and neither did his shirt and jacket, and I didn't care. All the better, because he wouldn't see my scars. I raked my nails down his back regardless, too angry not to. I bit and scratched and growled all the way through- faster, better, _harder._

Mason never said a word, and that was fine.

I was in charge, I was on top, I was the one who made the decisions because I was _my own fucking person._

But Damon's name was on the tip of my tongue every other second, and his face was what I saw painted on the back of my eyelids when all was said and done and I fell back into oblivion.

* * *

 **A/N: Well then, all is not well in Simon town. Or is it Damney? I dunno, I'll let you decide. As you can see, this was a mammoth of a chapter, and a lot of shit went down now that Sidney is awake again. I hope I made her reasons for not wanting a relationship with Damon clear enough, and I hope that there wasn't so much happening that anyone got too confused. If you did, please, please message me or leave a review and I'll explain things better. I'm probably going to go back and edit the hell out of this before posting. Either way, thank you so much for reading, and do leave a review if you feel so inclined!**

 **Guest review replies:**

 **Hope10: You got your wish, dude- Sidney's backstory with Mason Lockwood! And, you know, some other stuff with him. I hope you enjoyed, and thanks so much for the review!**

 _ **Next time:**_ _Mason and Sidney deal with the repercussions of their night together, and tensions rise as the gang races to finds the moonstone that may be the key to unlocking the Sun and Moon Curse._


	4. The Moonstone

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 4: The Moonstone**

Oh, God. What had I done?

What the fuck had I done?

I was the world's biggest idiot- the world's biggest piece of shit person. I was worse than Heather Duke, Freddy Kruger, and Katherine Pierce rolled into one- Okay, maybe I wasn't as bad as Katherine. But still.

Sleeping with Mason Lockwood may have been the stupidest thing that I had ever done, second only to that one time I went vampire-slaying with my sociopathic uncle. But that was another story, and right now, regret sat so thick in my stomach that I felt like I was about to puke.

I think maybe the worst part about it was that he was _still fucking there._

"Fuck," I hissed, trying to shift away from Mason's sleeping form and aggravating my rather sore lady bits. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

My friends were going to kill me for sleeping with Mason, Damon was going to kill Mason for sleeping with me, and Katherine was then going to kill all of us for the simple reason that she was a gigantic piece of vampire bitch-shit.

To my abject horror, one of Mason's eyes peeled open, and he grinned up at me.

"No," I said, before he could get a word out. "No. No, no, no. We are not doing this."

Mason actually _laughed at me._ "You weren't saying that when I was ripping your panties off last night."

I flushed at the reminder, suddenly realizing that everything below the waist was completely bare, and scrambled for a pair of sweat pants, pulling them on clumsily. "Can you, like, get the hell out of my house?" I requested, fighting back the redness in my cheeks.

When Mason made no move to climb out of my bed, I scowled and tugged my small pistol, loaded with wooden bullets, from beneath a pillow. He raised an eyebrow when I switched the safety off and pointed it at him.

"Get the hell out of my house _now_ ," I reiterated.

To my displeasure, he rolled his eyes, raised his hands in the air, and climbed out of the bed. Damn. Now I didn't have an excuse to shoot him.

And then I realized that he was buck ass naked.

"And put some God damn clothes on!" I hissed, nearly dropping my gun. "Jesus Christ!"

Mason chuckled at me, thick brows furrowing around at face that, once upon a time, I thought I had been in love with. But now there was Damon, all cold angles and laughing eyes, and all I wanted was to get Mason Lockwood and the memory of the night we had just spent together as far away from me as I possibly could.

Mason moved for his jeans, abandoned next to my desk chair, and pulled them on with almost exaggerated slowness. Next went the shirt, thrown over my tripod and camera bag, and he hesitated before fastening every last little button.

"Almost done?" I asked, impatient.

He spared me a glance before turning to the mirror over my dresser and straightening his hair out. "You sure I can't convince you to go get some breakfast with me?" Mason bartered. "You still love coffee, right?"

"No. Go fuck yourself."

"I'm good," Mason replied, eyebrows waggling. "You satisfied me enough last night."

I made a disgusted sound in the back of my throat before shoving him out the door, pistol in the small of his back. Mason complained all the way down the stairs and through the foyer, planting his feet into the floorboards and refusing to move when I tried shoving him out of the house.

"No goodbye kiss?" he purred.

I snorted at him. "No," I bit out. "I think I just threw up a little bit. Go die in a hole."

Mason, looking distinctly annoyed now, opened his mouth to speak, but I really, really didn't want to hear it. With one last push, I forced him out the front door and slammed it shut with rattling force in his face. I sighed and leant up against it.

 _I'm an idiot,_ I thought mournfully. _I am such a huge fucking idiot._

"So," a voice said from behind me, "want to talk about the fact that Mason Lockwood slept here last night?"

I groaned audibly and turned to face Jenna, shoving the pistol down the back of my sweatpants and praying that she hadn't noticed it. My aunt, far too young to be looking after three teenagers and just as messed up by my parents' deaths as my siblings and I were, raised eyebrows at me over her mug of coffee. Jenna was the only surviving member of my family who didn't know about the vampires, and I would give anything to keep it that way.

"Don't ask," I told her, shifting awkwardly where I stood. The pistol was a cold weight against the top of my butt, and the ache in my ribs told me that it was past time to take more pain medication.

Jenna rolled her eyes, strawberry blonde curls mussed and eyes still slightly cloudy from sleep, despite the mug of coffee she was holding. "Whatever," she scoffed, but the set of her shoulders told me that this wasn't the last I was going to be hearing from her about this. Jenna was not a fan of Mason Lockwood. She had made that clear enough, having been the first person I had told after he had left me two Novembers ago.

"You should probably get moving, sweetie," she told me. "I'd be a bad guardian if I let you skip school after all the days you've already missed. Elena's in the shower but she should be done soon."

I nodded, hands cupping the pistol that had begun to slip, and edged my way awkwardly up the stairs. Jenna stared after me with a bemused smile.

"Teenagers," I heard her mutter. _If only she knew the half of it._

* * *

Katherine Pierce had rented out a one-story, Spanish-style plantation house two miles on the outskirts of Mystic Falls proper. Ivy climbed the columns of the wrap-around porch, and the window boxes dotted around the structure were full of neon violets and canary yellow tulips. The wheels of Mason's jeep crunched against the gravel driveway as he pulled up that morning, and he wondered, not for the first time, why someone as sensual and wizened as Katherine had chosen such an innocent looking place to stay in while wreaking havoc.

True to form, she didn't seem surprised when Mason let himself in through the front door and approached her where she sat on an armchair, flipping through a magazine. Katherine grinned when a hot mouth sucked its way up the length of her neck.

"Morning, Mason," she chirped slyly, setting the magazine back onto the coffee table. "Did you have a nice night?"

Mason growled lowly, a stark reminder of what he was, and twisted around the armchair to glare directly into Katherine's eyes. "You know I did," he replied petulantly. "Although _why_ you wanted me to, I can't imagine."

Katherine resisted the urge to laugh, leaning forward and brushing a light kiss against Mason's mouth instead. He hummed happily, glad that all traces of Sidney Gilbert were being replaced, and moved large, calloused hands up Katherine's arms to rest on her shoulders.

The vampire pulled back with a warm smile and said, "Something along the lines of keeping Sidney as far away from Damon as I can manage."

Mason gave a sigh of long suffering and rolled his eyes, pulling back and straightening up. "So you can seduce Damon again and drive him and Stefan apart, I know," Mason parroted, clearly annoyed. "I wish you would tell me why you're doing this, though."

Katherine squelched down the sense of annoyance in the pit of her stomach, balling her hands into fists to hide the talons that were beginning to grow on the tips of her fingers. A pretty face didn't make up for how obtuse Mason could be when he was feeling particularly vexing.

"You'll find out soon enough," she cajoled instead. "They all will."

* * *

Jeremy, it seemed, was just chock full of surprises nowadays. Suicide attempt notwithstanding, he was more affectionate than usual and was drawing again with shocking frequency- but seeking me out and talking to me _in public_ probably took the cake. He usually tried to get as far away from his suffocating, doting older sisters as he possibly could.

"Hey," he said, staring at me with excited eyes as I shut my locker and raised an eyebrow at him. "I have some information about the Sun and Moon Curse."

I blinked in bewilderment before a grin slowly grew across my face. "Well, shoot, dude," I muttered, shouldering my backpack and then wincing slightly. "Tell me what you found out."

Information was good. Information meant figuring out more about the God damned curse, and figuring more out about the God damned curse meant figuring out just how much danger my sister may or may not be in.

"So, I was hanging out with Tyler Lockwood, right?" Jeremy asked as we made our way down the hallway in the general direction of the lunchroom.

"Don't ask," he said to my raised eyebrow. He and Tyler Lockwood statistically hated each other, and the fact that they had managed to co-exist with each other, without being forced to, threw me for a loop.

"And he's a werewolf, right?" Jeremy continued. "So I asked him some stuff and he explained that the curse- It's like- It's called the Sun and Moon Curse because vampires are tied to the sun and werewolves to the moon and- So basically whichever side completes some ritual first doesn't have to be ruled by either planetary objects, and, like, this moonstone is at the center of it and apparently Mason Lockwood is trying to find it."

I frowned at the shit-load of words that my brother had just vomited out, and my hand automatically drifted to the phone in the pocket of my skirt. "Good job, Jer," I congratulated, mind running a mile a minute. _Moonstone, ritual- Ritual? That didn't sound good._

I bit my lip, hard, and then winced when my teeth broke the skin. No blood, though. At least that was something. "I should probably tell Damon," I ventured, but something in my stomach curdled at the thought of seeing him the morning after I had slept with another man.

Jeremy, oblivious, grinned, practically bouncing up and down in the middle of the school hallway. _God_ he was so different. And I hadn't even noticed him changing!

"Let's go then," he supplied, leading the way to the school's main doors. "You've got lunch this period, right?"

I eyed Jeremy with a cynical grin. "You're not a senior," I reminded him. "You're not allowed to leave campus."

He sent me a withering glare. "I used to smoke pot next to the dumpsters," he asserted. "I literally do not give a shit about what I am, and am not allowed to do at school."

He had a point there.

I shrugged in assent and the two of us meandered out the doors and across the street to the senior parking lot, Jeremy tapping his hands against the roof of my car impatiently as I unlocked it. I had lost the key fob a while ago.

"What's up with Damon, anyway?" Jeremy asked, sliding into the passenger seat. "I thought he'd be, like, stalking you, at this point, like he did the last time you were in the hospital, but I feel like he hasn't been over in forever."

I coughed into my shoulder, maneuvering out of the parking lot, and my bit my lip. "We aren't exactly on speaking terms right now," I explained awkwardly.

"Oh," said Jeremy. He waited until we had cleared Main Street before asking, "Is that why Mason Lockwood slept over last night?"

Sometimes I forgot that Jeremy's room was right next to mine, and the walls in our house happened to be very thin. Now I felt bad. Poor kid had gone through enough trauma in his life without me adding further to that.

"Yes," I replied stiffly.

Jeremy glanced over at me, mouth open to comment, but I beat him to the punch.

"I swear to God," I ground out, "if you tell Damon, I will fucking murder your ass. Got it?"

Jeremy snorted, although his eyes flickered to my leg, where I usually had a stake hidden, and he nodded robotically. "Got it," he parroted.

We were silent for the rest of the drive, and I felt a string of anxiety coil and then snap straight in my stomach when we finally pulled up to the Boarding House. Jeremy unbuckled his seat belt and turned to me, eyeing me appraisingly.

"I can go in by myself," he offered, noticing the look of discomfort on my face.

"That might be best," I told him, overwhelmingly grateful.

Jeremy nodded and sidled out of the car and up the driveway to the front porch. As I watched, the door swung open and Damon appeared, eyebrows raised. The sight made my heart clench, and I sunk in my seat, trying to avoid the gaze that inevitably swept my way. He spotted me, of course, and waved. I blushed so hard I could feel my cheeks burn.

The conversation seemed to go smoothly, from what I could tell, and not fifteen minutes later Jeremy was sitting back in my passenger seat, with that _look_ on his face that people usually got the first time they talked with Damon one on one. The rest of the day passed with the same monotony every school day did, and before I knew it, the final bell was ringing and I was being herded by Caroline into the auditorium for our first rehearsal of _Dracula, the Musical._

Okay, so I'm not going to pretend that I'm, like, the world's greatest singer or anything like that. I have pretty much zero training, outside from a year of choir in the sixth grade, and I can barely read sheet music. But I can carry a tune marginally well and I know how to belt, so I guess that's enough to trick some people into thinking I can. And I've never acted before, but I've kind of had to become good at lying with the whole vampire-invasion thing, and I definitely cannot fucking dance.

But aside from all of that, rehearsals for _Dracula_ were actually going pretty alright.

I didn't think I was doing a very good job as Mina Harker, I'll tell you that right now, but I guess I enjoyed rehearsals well enough. Corbin was playing Dracula, which made for some laughs when we were supposed to be doing scenes together, and Anastasia was the music director and spending time with my best friend was always a plus. Keeley as the choreographer was an experience, and Caroline was as anal retentive about the show as she was everything else in her life (death hadn't changed that about her), but I guessed it was an alright way to pass the month of January. Not to mention being able to add drama club to my list of extracurricular activities on college applications.

Speaking of which, the time had come.

Anastasia and the rest of my friends had had enough, and were forcing me to finally send in my NYU application. I had been pussyfooting around the whole college-shabang for the past couple of months, although plans for the next year weren't really a priority when you didn't know if you were going to be surviving the next week. There also may or may not have been some lingering anxiety over the fact that my second and third choice schools- Wake Forest and Clemson- had either waitlisted or denied me, and if NYU did the same, I was going to the University of Virginia like literally every other person in Mystic Falls did.

I had printed off and filled out the application about two weeks ago, but hadn't worked up the nerve to mail it in yet. I had been putting it off for months now (sending in a hard copy instead of just going online like everyone else did was proof of that), and I guessed my friends were done with it, because after rehearsals on the first day of February, Sutter, Angelica, and Madison showed up to join forces with Anastasia, and kidnap me. They dragged me to the nearby post office and forced me to get the application out of my backpack before supervising me as I bought a stamp and envelope and finally mailed the damn thing.

It was like taking ten pounds off of each shoulder and then getting punched in the gut. I didn't have to worry about sending in the application anymore, but now I had the wonderful task of waiting for months to see if I had been accepted to my dream school or not.

Sutter, Madison, and Angelica split afterward, on their way to soccer practice. Anastasia must have recognized the look of sadness on my face, seeing as I couldn't go to soccer practice myself, because she followed me back to my house and put on a marathon of my favorite 80's movies in an effort to cheer me up.

We got distracted about halfway through _Back to the Future 2_ and Anastasia started asking me about what the hell was going on in the supernatural community lately. She knew about the Sun and Moon Curse already, since Stefan had already called to ask for her input on it, but the moonstone thing threw her for a loop. We went back to watching the movie for a bit, but Anastasia had that look on her face that she got whenever she was thinking really hard about something.

"If Katherine is searching for it," she bridged a few minutes later, and I didn't have to ask to know that she was talking about the moonstone, "it's probably related to the Curse. It might even be the seal."

"The seal?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Anastasia nodded and rubbed her eyes behind her glasses. I bit my lip before leaning over and switching the movie on pause. Anastasia tucked her legs up underneath her skirt and explained, "A seal is kind of…" She paused and thought for a moment, frowning. "It's kind of like the curse is the lock and the moonstone is the key. Even if an extremely powerful witch created it, a ritual that size would have to be operated through a physical medium- which might be the moon stone. If another witch- or even an alchemist, I guess- can get their hands on it, they might be able to undo the curse."

I couldn't stop the grin that grew across my face. "You're saying you might be able to stop this?" I questioned, just to make sure. "You're saying, that if I get that moonstone, we can stop this entire business without getting my sister involved?"

Anastasia smiled right back at me. "Yeah." She nodded and then sent me a knowing glance. "Since I know you're probably going to get your hands on that moonstone at some point," she told me teasingly, "I'm going to go ahead and ask for you to bring it over here when you do so that I can take a look at it."

I nodded eagerly, excitement bubbling up in my stomach as opposed to the tight coil of tension that used to be there.

Anastasia had been right about the whole "you'll get your hands on it eventually" thing. We only had to wait two more days before Jeremy burst into my bedroom, all proud grins, to tell me his not-so-fake-friendship with Tyler Lockwood had paid off. Mason was working with Katherine (and I really should have been surprised, but unfortunately wasn't. God, I sucked major ass for sleeping with him), and Jeremy had a way to find it, with help from Bonnie. The two of them gave it one or two more days before we knew where it was. We gave Bonnie instructions to text me when she figured it out, and then settled in for the waiting game.

And in the meantime, Damon had a house guest.

* * *

Torturing Mason Lockwood for information they didn't need was overdoing it to the extreme, Damon knew. Bonnie had already read his mind (one of the perks of having a witch on-hand) and found out the location of the moonstone, which meant Sidney and Stefan were en route to it this very moment. And it didn't take a genius to figure out what Katherine wanted the moonstone for, although why she felt the need to disrupt a centuries-old curse was beyond Damon.

According to Mason, though, it was because she loved him.

Damon couldn't help but let out a rather loud laugh at that, pausing his robotic stabbing-with-a-blunt-stake for the moment. "You think she _loves_ you?" he spluttered. "Oh, brother, let me tell you a little something about Katherine Pierce."

Mason chuckled and spat out a mouthful of blood, all over the Persian rug that had been sitting in that very spot for the past fifty years. Dammit. Damon knew he should have laid a tarp down first, but he had been too preoccupied with the promise of causing pain and working out all of the frustration that had been building up in him for the past two months. Whether or not shoving wolf's bane down Mason's throat was a good outlet or not was irrelevant. It worked, and Damon wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Are you really sure you want to get into our love lives?" Mason managed to spit out around his burned vocal chords.

Damon snarled, feeling the familiar dryness of the black blood hitting the veins under his eyes. He didn't need any reminder of Mason and Sidney's previous relationship, but fuck it. Damon had the upper hand, and Mason was about to leave Sidney's life for good, so why the hell not?

"Why not?" Damon shrugged, switching out the stake for a butcher knife and dragging it along the planes of Mason's bared chest. "You should know that Katherine doesn't give a shit about you," Damon stated conversationally. "She doesn't care about anyone but herself- least of all some mutt who's practically an infant to her."

 _Ah, there it is._

Mason's eyes had turned wolf-yellow, probably without him realizing it, although the rest of his face remained the slightly pained- but impassive- mask he had maintained throughout the majority of his and Damon's little "conversation". Mason must have been bothered, at least a little bit, so Damon kept going, spurned by his success.

"She's using you," he needled, driving the kitchen knife into Mason's stomach as he did. "All she wants from you is some poor sap to follow her orders and warm her bed until she gets what she really wants, and then you'll be kicked straight to the curb."

And with that, Damon twisted the knife deeper into the werewolf's gut. More blood doused the rug. Damon snorted, mouth curling into a sneer, and shook his head.

"You're useless," he scoffed. "You have nothing that I want-"

Mason laughed again, gore sprinkling across Damon's face, and jeered, "I have everything you want, Sidney on one arm and Katherine on the other. What man could ask for more?"

Blood stained Damon's eyes and fangs lengthened in his gums. "What the fuck did you just say?" he snarled.

Mason grinned. "I slept with Sidney," he jibed.

"Two years ago," Damon ground out.

"Nope." And God dammit. Mason popped the "p" as he shook his head. "One week ago."

Damon saw crimson red. The next thing he knew, his teeth were buried in the burning heat of Mason's throat and claret was spilling over and around his lips and down his shirt and Mason was _dead._ Damon _ripped_ into his body- _destroyed it._ The corpse hung limply from his restraints once he was done, flesh flayed out around bone and brawn, and Damon was covered in what had once been Mason Lockwood.

Sidney was in for a hell of a confrontation the next time he saw her.

* * *

I was with Keeley and Caroline when Bonnie finally texted me the location of the moonstone. We were grabbing coffee at Sundays with Susie post-rehearsal, and I nearly spat out my latte once I saw where Mason had hidden the rock- On the old Lockwood property, of course. I swear, every bullshit-artifact could be found in those woods. It was like catnip for the supernatural.

Mason having thrown the moonstone into an old well made sense, too. It was practically a given recently that I would have to make some sort of expedition into scary, dark places at least once a month. I definitely chose the wrong day to wear a dress.

It took maybe fifteen minutes to get to the Lockwood property, and another ten to hike to the old well. I only knew where it was because Tyler had jumped in on a dare when we were all, like, twelve, and the entire fire and police department turned up to get him out.

The well wasn't a standing structure like the fairy-tale, wishing well type deal. It was a hole in the ground covered by a wooden lid, and we nearly missed it on our way there because it was so covered in shrubbery.

Keeley, the only one out of the three of us who had worn jeans that day, immediately kneeled down and started tearing away the bracken and heather. I crouched down once she was finished and heaved the cover away from the hole, sending up a cloud of dust and dirt as we did.

I coughed, waving the grime away from my face, and sniffed slightly, nose numb. It was early February, and the snow had only recently melted. The ground was still wet against my knees where I was kneeling. When I tried to brush it off once I was standing, my hand came away muddy.

Keeley peered uncertainly into the hole. "It looks spooky down there," she commented, frowning. "Who's going to go get the moonstone?"

"Not me!" Caroline blurted. "I don't do creepy wells."

I nearly groaned, but hid it with a well-placed cough. I certainly didn't want to jump into the well. Who knew how far down it was, or if there was even enough water to land safely? Not to mention what kind of snake/bug/evil mermaid might be lurking in the depths, waiting to eat poor, innocent vampire slayers just trying to get their hands on a damn moonstone.

But neither Keeley nor Caroline looked very enthused about the idea, either, and if anyone from the Scooby Doo gang were going to get hurt, I would prefer that it be me.

But before I could volunteer myself as tribute, lo and behold, Stefan the Savior's voice came blowing toward us on the wind.

"Looks like you beat us to it!" he called, trudging over a ridge, a windswept Elena not far behind him. I was a little shocked to see her, considering she and Stefan had been broken up for a few days now, but I figured they would be together, all epic-vampire-romance and all.

The reminder of my current situation with Damon sent a pang to my heart, and my joy at seeing Stefan faded. It was hard to be happy with things the way they were between us. I missed Damon, and I missed the easy relationship we had had before all of this love nonsense had come into the picture.

I shook my head and forced a grin, nodding at the two of them. "Hey," I said. "Did Bonnie tell you about the moonstone, too?"

"Yeah." Elena waved her cellphone at me. "Is it down there?"

I shrugged, digging my own phone out of the pocket of my jacket and switching on the flashlight feature, shining it into the depths of the well. The water threw the reflection of the light back at me, but I couldn't see the moonstone. "I guess," I said warily, switching off the light. "I mean, Bonnie's never been wrong before."

Or at least not on purpose. She was usually pretty reliable when she was on our side, but I couldn't let myself forget the handful of times when she had gone anti-vampire and tried to kill the Salvatores. Bonnie Bennett wasn't exactly a trustworthy person in my eyes, nowadays. But then again, she was important to Elena, hitherto, important to me.

Stefan walked up to the edge of the well and peered down, shedding his leather jacket and Henley as he did so. I didn't miss the way Caroline eyed his bare chest, or the way Elena flushed slightly, and I nearly rolled my eyes. Stefan handed his clothes and cell phone over to me before sitting on the edge of the well and tugging off his boots.

"Can you shine your phone's light down?" he asked me. "It won't be much, but I think it will help."

I nodded and did so, relieved that I didn't have to be the one to go down there, and with that, Stefan jumped in-

Only to start screaming in pain the moment he hit the water.

Caroline gave a cry of shock. Elena dropped to her knees and started shouting Stefan's name. I dropped his clothes (and my phone) and leaned closer over the edge to try and figure out what was wrong.

But Keeley was the one who jumped in after him.

* * *

In hindsight, it was sort of kind of probably (definitely) a horrible idea.

Keeley had no clue what was at the bottom of that well. But whatever it is, she knew that it was enough to make a two-hundred-year-old vampire scream like a horror movie victim. What the hell did she think that she, a teenaged human, was going to do when confronted by the same thing?

But there was no pain when she hit the water, only a vague sense of confusion and disorientation at the blinding cold.

She broke the surface and gasped for air, Stefan's body a wet, thrashing menace beside her. One of his arms lashed out, nearly hitting her in the face, and as it passed her, she thought she heard it- _Sizzling?_

"It's vervain," he gurgled, and in the dim light, Keeley saw the flesh of his cheeks burning away from the bone. "Keeley- Keeley, I can't- _Vervain-_ Keeley, _please_ -!"

For the first time, Keeley noticed the purple flowers drifting by them, and she blinked in shock. Vervain burned vampires' skin when they touched it. Oh. Oh, God. She needed to get Stefan out of this water.

"Ssh," Keeley told him, grabbing him under the arms when it looked like he was about to sink. "Ssh. I'm gonna get you out, Stefan."

"Fucking Mason Lockwood," she heard him grit out.

The shock of Stefan actually cursing notwithstanding, Keeley pulled back slightly and paddled herself in a circle, searching for whatever rope and bucket had been used to haul water out of this God forsaken well when it had actually been useful. Shouldn't it have been dried up by now?

Whatever. There was a chain hanging from the wall closest to her, and she grabbed for it, praying that by some miracle it climbed up to the rim of the well.

"Hold on," she muttered, treading water over to Stefan's pulsing form and winding her arms around his midsection again. "I'm going to get you out."

He gave a pained whimper and then nodded, shivering against her, and Keeley worked the chain around his waist and then into some semblance of a knot at his back.

"Sidney!" Keeley called up, praying that the older girl could hear her over the splashing from her and Stefan and the panicking from Elena and Caroline. "Sidney!"

There was quiet for a split second, and the familiar, throaty voice bellowed back; "You alright?"

"We're fine!" Keeley assured, and then, with a look at a rapidly-fading Stefan, amended, "Actually, no. The water has vervain! Is there a chain at the top of the well?"

Another second's worth of quiet while Sidney searched. There was a screech of rust detaching from stone, and Keeley felt the chain wedged between her skin and Stefan's give slack.

"Yeah?"

"Pull on it!" Keeley instructed, breath growing labored from holding up her and Stefan's combined weight for this long. "We need to get Stefan out!"

The next few seconds were nerve-wracking. Keeley heard grunts and pants from above ground as the three girls worked to get the vampire back up, and in the meantime, Keeley could see that Stefan was fading fast. This was probably his equivalent of taking a bath in acid, and Keeley's heart went out to him. The gentle giant didn't deserve this kind of pain.

 _Fucking Mason Lockwood._

Finally, Sidney, Elena, and Caroline managed to get him out. But the moonstone was still down here, and they needed it…

Keeley bit her lip, still treading water, and startled when Sidney's voice yelled, "You still alright, Keels?"

"Uh huh," Keeley replied.

"We're gonna get you out, alright? Just hold on!"

The chain splashed down next to her, and Keeley reached out a hand for it, then paused.

What would her dad have done, if he were down here? Or Sidney? Or even Elena or Caroline?

They would have tried to find the moonstone, because they were brave. Because they were heroes. And Keeley wasn't as involved in all this vampire business as they were, but dammit. She could be a hero, too.

"No," she shouted up. "Just- Fuck it. I'm getting the damn moonstone!"

"What?" Keeley thought she heard Sidney say, but that didn't matter. It was Keeley's turn to save the day for once, so she kicked off her boots and shrugged out of her sodden sweater, took a deep breath, and ducked down into the black water.

Light was nonexistent, and Keeley was shivering in her jeans and bra, and also was that a piece of vervain brushing against her leg, or was that a snake-? _Nope. Nope. Let's not go there. Just find the moonstone and get out, Keeley._

After what felt like hours of searching, when she felt like her brain was going to pop from lack of oxygen, Keeley's hand collided with something that felt suspiciously moonstone-like, and she curled her fingers up around it, pushing off the bottom of the well toward beautiful air. When she had gulped down her fill and didn't feel like she was going to pass out anymore, she rose what she had grabbed to her eyes and stared at it.

It felt like it was made of glass and glinted like a geode in what little light there was down there. Keeley was no expert on magical moonstones, but she figured this looked enough like one to be the real deal. With a smile, she raised it triumphantly above her head and screamed, "I got it! I got the rock! Pull me up and get me out of here!"

The journey up was not as easy as the one down had been, and by the time she was hoisted, shivering and panting, back onto the grass, Keeley felt distinctly motion sick. Caroline and Sidney were on her in an instant, covering her nearly-bare form with Sidney's jacket, and Keeley couldn't help but let her gaze drift over to Stefan.

He was in bad shape. What little skin that wasn't charred or peeled away was an angry red color, and Elena sobbed as she tried to rinse the vervain off with a half-full water bottle. But when Keeley looked, Stefan shifted, and a whiskey-colored eye blinked open to stare at her. And was it her imagination, or did his mouth curl into a grin?

Either way, she felt inordinately warm all of a sudden.

* * *

The first thing we saw when we entered the Boarding House, an unconscious Stefan supported half on my shoulder, half on Caroline's, was Mason Lockwood's dead body.

I wasn't the only one who screamed at the gory sight, but I did drop my half of Stefan, causing Caroline to fall to the ground under his dead weight. She may have been a vampire now, but Stefan was two-hundred pounds of pure muscle, and Caroline was maybe one-hundred soaking wet. I thought I heard Keeley dry-heaving from behind me, and even I felt a bit sick to my stomach.

Mason was dead.

Mason was _dead._

And I had a pretty damn good idea who it was that had killed him.

There was a rustle from the general direction of the kitchen, and a blood-spattered Damon waltzed out, an entire decanter of whiskey in hand.

"The fuck, Damon!" I shrieked, motioning vaguely in the direction of the corpse. "The fuck!"

He rolled his eyes, popping the crystal cap off of his bottle and taking a long swig. He pulled back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Good evening, Sidney," he sighed, patronizing. "Eloquent as usual, I see."

"You killed him!" I sputtered. "You actually killed him- holy _fuck,_ Damon!"

Damon just snorted, eyes drifting over to a still-shuddering Stefan. "What's wrong with him?" he asked, and was that a twinge of concern in his voice or was I just crazy?

"He got dumped in a well full of vervain," Keeley answered. She had kneeled down next to Caroline to help lift Stefan off of the ground. I was surprised that she had said anything at all. Last time I checked, she was still terrified of vampires after being attacked by the group that had escaped from Katherine's tomb. But then again, she had just jumped into a well to save one, so I digress.

Keeley was still in just a bra, too, I noticed, and shivering with her wet hair dripping down her back and onto her bare feet. I was less happy to admit that something in me growled at the thought of Damon seeing another girl shirtless, but either way, we needed to get Keeley and Stefan dried off and warmed up. So I forced my eyes away from Mason's flayed-open carcass and said, "We need to get him and Keeley taken care of."

"You know where the shower is," Damon intoned. His gaze hadn't left my face once, and darkness rolled across his features. Something was wrong with him, and I had a horrible feeling that I was about to find out what.

Elena, ever the perceptive one, nodded and moved to herd Caroline and the sopping-wet dynamic duo up the stairs, presumably to the guest bathroom.

Leaving me and Damon.

Alone.

To my complete and utter shock, he ignored me, meandering over to his favorite armchair and sinking in, disregarding his blood stained clothing completely. I nearly fell over in surprise. He was always bitching at me for climbing over the back of the couch or getting my boots on his furniture, worried I might scuff the leather. Had hell frozen over or something?

"Um…" I trailed off, awkward, eyes fixing on Mason's dead body once again. He must have done _something_ to be dead. Damon wasn't just senselessly killing people anymore. Right?

I shook my head, anger rising in the pit of my stomach. There were claw marks (fingers- Damon's fingers) that had ripped apart Masons' gut, shredding flesh and bone and muscle alike. Fangs had snapped across his throat, ripping it out, and what was left of his face twisted into a gruesome expression of horror. Damon had been beyond angry when he killed Mason Lockwood, and what was left of that anger simmered under the surface of his skin now, like a tiger pacing its cage, ready to be released and reign down some destruction.

"Are we going to talk about why you brutally murdered Mason Lockwood?" I hissed, planting my feet, ready for any attack that was about to be thrown my way.

And all of a sudden, the cage opened and the tiger struck.

With a slam, Damon tossed the decanter of whiskey at the wall, and in a flash of lightning he was in front of me. The crystal bottle shattered, shards spraying across the room, one slashing my bare thigh, and blood rolled down my leg to join Mason's on the floor.

Damon smiled dangerously at me, teeth sharpened, eyes reddened, and veins blackened. "Yes, Sidney," he barked. "Let's talk about how you fucked him last week."

 _Oh, shit._

My mouth went dry in fear and my hands automatically started twitching toward the stake strapped to my bloodied thigh. Suddenly, all my reasons for having sex with Mason flew out the window. Right when I needed them most, too.

"Who I do and don't have sex with is none of your concern," I stammered weakly, knowing how cheap of an excuse that was.

Damon barked a laugh. "The hell it is!" he sniped. "You and I both know that we belong to each other-"

"I don't!" I insisted, hands lashing out and shoving him away from me. He didn't give an inch, so I got closer instead, forcing myself right into his face. "I don't belong to you, Damon-!"

" _But I belong to you_!" he thundered, voice echoing through the house like a gunshot.

There was complete and utter, suffocating silence. Damon stared straight at me, blue eyes like spears, and his chest rose and fell like an Olympic athlete's after a match. My heart pounded against my chest, and I felt like I had just been stabbed in the gut- again.

Damon softened, slumping, and his voice pleaded, "Don't you understand that I've belonged to you for months now?"

And if that didn't make me feel like the biggest fucking asshole in the world.

It hurt. Oh God, it fucking hurt. Because Damon had been abandoned too many times by the people he gave his trust to, and he had given it to me after months of back and forth between the two of us- But oh God, I _couldn't-_

"It scares me, Damon," I confessed suddenly, so quietly that I was barely certain I had said it at all. "What I feel for you. It terrifies me."

He didn't look away. "Why?"

I shook my head, desperate, suddenly, and were tears dripping down my cheeks now or was that sweat? "That's not what I…" I whispered. "Well, yes, it is, but…" I shook my head. "It's what I'm willing to do for you that scares me," I muttered. "Because I would do _anything_ for you- and that's not right. It can't be right. It can't be _healthy,_ Damon." My eyes drifted to his, begging, _pleading_ for him to understand. "We're toxic. Don't you see? We're like poison for each other."

We killed and fought and destroyed for each other, rushed into dangerous situations and bottles of liquor to drown the pain without thought or hesitation. This was nothing like the love I saw in movies or in my parents: pure and sweet and soft. With Damon, it was like a wildfire, consuming everything in sight and taking no prisoners, least of all me.

"It isn't," Damon denied, head shaking. "You aren't toxic; Sidney- you are the least toxic thing that I've ever had in my life." As he spoke, his voice grew in strength and his shoulders lifted up and back. "And I'm not going to give up until I've convinced you to be with me."

* * *

Later, Caroline and Elena came downstairs, Elena staring at me weirdly but Caroline with knowing eyes.

Later, Keeley emerged, dried off and dressed in clothes Elena and I had left at the Boarding House, and made jokes that only half-succeeded in getting my mind off of things.

Later, we worked together with much complaining and lots of "Oh, gross"-es to transport Mason's body into the backyard and burn it to ashes. No one noticed me slip his phone out of his pocket and into mine. Or if they did, they didn't mention it.

Later, after dropping off Caroline and Keeley and making sure Elena got to bed okay, I scrolled through Mason's contacts and clicked on the most-called number.

Katherine picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" a voice that sounded far too much like Elena's answered. "Mason? Where are you? Where's the moonstone?"

I swallowed down the lump of emotion in my throat, left over from my conversation with Damon, and replied, "Surprise. Not Mason."

There was a split second of silence, and then: "What the fuck did you do to him, Gilbert?"

I barked a laugh, too many emotions bringing with them hysteria. "Oh, don't act like you actually cared about him, Katherine," I guffawed. "He was nothing to you but a fuck toy. And you shouldn't be asking what _I_ did to him-"

"What did Damon do to him?" she demanded.

I fought back the urge to roll my eyes. "What the hell do you think he did? Mason is dead, Katherine, and your little bullshit plan to drive me and Damon apart didn't work for shit. We have the moonstone, and you have jack squat."

A growl like a wildcat came from the other line, and it was a bit cathartic to know that I had pissed Katherine off like that. (And by a bit I mean a lot. Suck my dick, bitch.)

"I'm going to murder you, Gilbert," Katherine promised darkly. "I'm going to ruin your life, destroy everything that you love, and then I am going to slowly kill you and enjoy doing it."

"I'm sure you will," I retorted sardonically, hoping that every ounce of the hatred and venom I felt for her showed in my voice. "And in the meantime, kindly go fuck yourself."

And with that, I hung up on her.

Taunting a homicidal vampire out for my blood was probably not one of my better ideas. But making someone I hated feel even worse than I did at the moment?

Well damn. That felt really fucking great.

* * *

 **A/N: I want to start by apologizing for the longer-than-usual-wait. I meant to have this chapter up by Thanksgiving, but obviously that didn't happen. Lack of wifi at my grandma's and auditions for February shows got in the way, but I hope this makes up for it. Chapter 5 will, without a doubt, be posted on or by Christmas.**

 **Side note- Keep an eye out for** _ **Jane Doe!**_ **The first chapter is nearly finished, and it should be up in December!**

 **Also, thank you so much because** _ **The Damsel in Distress Diaries**_ **is the eighth most popular Damon/OC story on this website! This legitimately never would have happened without all of you, and I want to profusely thank you for it! I love each and every single one of you so, so much!**


	5. How to Kill a Katherine

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 5: How to Kill a Katherine**

I had absolutely no clue where Keeley Saltzman got all of her energy from.

I also had no clue how she was able to do splits in skinny jeans.

Or, really, how she was able to do splits at all. Was I strong, fast, and agile? Yes. Was I flexible? Hell fucking no.

I watched, eyes blown comically wide, as Keeley stretched herself out before musical rehearsals. Her golden brown hair was piled on top of her head in a bun, and her ankle boots were set to the side of the auditorium stage. I couldn't help but admire her easy nature as she chattered along with the rest of the cast, all of us shooting the shit before practice.

When Caroline walked into the room, I immediately knew that there was something wrong.

Her eyes were downcast, a sure sign that the tiger of a girl wasn't looking for a fight, and she had the sleeves of her jean jacket pulled down over her hands. The lapis lazuli daylight ring winked at me beneath the denim hem.

Anastasia, seated at the rehearsal piano, made eye contact with me over the top of Caroline's blonde head. _What's going on?_

I shrugged and raised an eyebrow. _Hell if I know. Probably something vampiric._

 _Well, you should probably find out._ Anastasia ran her fingers up and down the keyboard in a quick scale, slamming down on the top note with finality.

I sighed before getting to my feet and nodding. I would never understand why the Scooby Doo gang had nominated me as friend-mom, but they had, and it looked like I had some mom-ing to do.

"What's up?" I asked the minute I reached Caroline, toeing off her ankle boots in front of the first row of the audience. I swung myself into a seat on the edge of the stage, knees about level with her collarbone.

Caroline swallowed thickly, tossing a blonde curl over her shoulder. "I have a confession to make," she whispered, not without difficulty.

My eyes narrowed, and I didn't miss the way Caroline flinched. I immediately regretted the knee-jerk action. Something told me she was nervous enough about what she was about to tell me- she didn't need me jumping the gun and treating her like an enemy before she'd even opened her mouth.

To make up for it, I swung my legs back and forth playfully and sent her a cheeky grin. "Shoot," I told her. "Whatever it is, we still love you, and we'll all handle it together. Alright?"

Caroline's shoulders relaxed visibly and she nodded, although by the slightly green tinge to her normally porcelain face, I could tell that she still wasn't completely reassured.

"It's about Katherine," she disclosed, and I felt that familiar, hot bile rise in my throat at the mention of her name. "I've- Sidney, you know what sire bonds are! You know what they are, right?"

I felt faint.

Yes, I knew what a sire bond was.

Yes, I knew that Katherine, having been the one to turn Caroline, was technically her sire.

Yes, we were all the world's biggest fucking idiots for not checking to see if Caroline was sire-bound to Katherine before this.

"God fucking dammit," I whispered, and now the bile in my throat was due to my disgust with myself, rather than due to my hatred. Although, to be honest, this knowledge made me hate Katherine all the more.

Caroline nodded hastily, and for the first time in my life, I thought that Caroline Forbes was about to cry.

"She's been making me spy on all of you for her ever since she turned me," Caroline confided, looking more like she was vomiting than speaking. "And I'm sorry, Sidney. I'm so, so sorry. I had to spy on Stefan and- and _Elena_ \- and I just feel _awful_ \- and I'm so, so sorry. I wouldn't betray you guys like this if I had a choice- you _know_ I wouldn't-!"

" _Caroline!"_ I called out over her word puke, all too aware of the deadly look Keeley was sending me, more than likely thinking that I was being mean to her best friend. "I'm not mad at you."

It was like watching a car come to a screeching halt. Caroline went quiet immediately and stared at me, blinking in confusion. "You- You're not?"

The fact that she expected me to burn her at the stake for this rankled with me a bit, but I hid it as best I could and shook my head, forcing a smile. "No. Why would I be? You had no say and this- and hell-" I stopped that in its tracks.

I had been about to say _You getting turned is me and Damon's fault in the first place_ , but somehow I didn't think me taking the blame for Caroline's death was going to help the situation at hand. I was already on thin ice with her, due to my not-a-relationship ( _don't think about that Sidney, don't think about it)_ with her abusive not-an-ex-boyfriend. I didn't want to throw our slowly-mending relationship straight back into the shitter.

Clearing my throat, I continued, "The point is, you're not in trouble for this, and anyone who says otherwise can take it up with me."

Caroline let out a sound that was something between a laugh and a sob and nodded, brushing away the tears that I hadn't noticed tracing their way down her face. I didn't have to force a smile this time around, and hopped off of the stage. Caroline tensed when I hugged her, but relaxed into it eventually.

I won't lie- I felt a bit awkward about the embrace. Physical affection was something that I was still not super okay with. But Caroline was Caroline and the situation called for a hug, so a hug the situation got.

I pulled back after a few seconds, running a hand through my collar bone length hair, and pressed, "So why are you telling me this now?"

Caroline twisted the daylight ring on her finger nervously. "Katherine has a message for you," she divulged.

And there went the vomit in the back of my mouth.

I swallowed it, nose wrinkling in distaste, and bit my lip. "What did the bitch have to say?" I bit out.

Caroline hesitated. "She- she wanted me to tell you…" The blonde vampire shook her head and composed herself for a moment. When she began to speak again, she made direct eye contact with me, and her voice didn't waver.

"She wanted me to tell you to bring the moonstone to the masquerade ball this weekend, or she will rip the town apart."

* * *

Pulling up to the Boarding House that night felt kind of like running into a burning building- and trust me, I know what that feels like.

It had been two days since I had seen Damon, and two days since the truth about how I felt towards our relationship came to light for both of us.

I won't lie; I missed him.

It felt like I had been running from what I felt for him since the day I found out that he was a vampire-

No. Scratch that. Since the day I met him.

I've always been a bit of a push-over. I know that about myself. Maybe it's because I'm the oldest of three siblings, maybe it's because of my dad's influence, maybe it's because I'm a slayer, or maybe it's just the way I'm wired, but I've always been that way. I've always had such a hard freaking time putting myself first.

Even as a little kid, I was constantly aware of where my little brother and sister were and how they were feeling. When Mom first gave us our journals, I always found it hard to write in mine, because I hated talking about myself- hated _thinking_ about myself. And the same thing happened when Jenna signed me up for therapy after my parents' death. I didn't want to be selfish- had never wanted to- and I think when Damon came along….

Well, I think I panicked.

Here was someone who thought about me the same way I thought about everyone else. Someone who put me first when I had always put myself last. Someone who made me completely disregard almost everyone else and everything else in my life. Someone who made me want to be selfish and selfless at the same time.

And I had never felt that way about… About _anything_.

Not even photography or travel or history sparked the kind of excitement in me that Damon did. Mason hadn't even come close to it, or Andrew, or Corbin for like five seconds in eighth grade, or any other boy I had ever had the minutest of crushes on over the course of my life.

The chemistry between us wasn't like anything I'd ever seen before, either- Not between my parents, or Elena and Stefan, or Jenna and Alaric.

And I wanted it. I wanted _Damon_ so badly. I wanted to be able to give him all the love I had in my heart for him.

But for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to just reach out and take what I wanted.

Which wasn't fair to him, I knew. It wasn't fair to me, either. But thoughts of bad timing and evil plots and moonstones and horrible ceremonies were swirling through my mind, and I wouldn't let myself be the type of person to get distracted by love when the safety of my family and my town might be on the line.

I huffed out a groan and smacked my head into the steering wheel of my Toyota, letting out a yelp of surprise when I accidentally caused the horn to go off. Predictably, the door to the Boarding House flew open and Stefan's head peeked through, raising an eyebrow at me when I clambered out of the car, face bright red.

"Sidney," he acknowledged. "Car trouble?"

I shook my head sheepishly, plodding up the steps of the porch and entering the house. "Katherine trouble," I corrected, and Stefan's easy grin slipped off his face to be replaced with a stone-cold scowl. "Is Damon home? The three of us need to talk."

From the top of the stairs, a familiar voice called, "Do I hear the dulcet tones of the beautiful love of my life?"

A chuckle almost spilled out, but I concealed it with a well-time cough and rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest and hoping he wouldn't notice my blush. "Cut the shit, Damon. I know you heard everything I just said to Stefan."

In a flash, he was in front of me. "Yeesh. And here I thought you were able to take a joke, Siddie." He looked closer at my face and grinned. "Is that a blush I see?"

"Shut up."

"It _is_!"

 _Goddamit._

"No, it isn't. Shut up."

There was a barfing sound from behind us, but when we turned and glared, Stefan just shrugged and smiled, adopting an expression of false innocence.

"What?" he asked. "I didn't say anything."

I scowled at him. "You know, for two-hundred-year-old vampires, the two of you can be really fucking immature," I snapped.

Stefan sobered immediately, shoving his hands in his pockets and nodding. "Sorry about that," he replied. "You said you had information about Katherine?"

"Well, not me," I corrected, "Caroline."

To say that the Salvatores weren't thrilled when I told them the extent of what had been going on with Caroline lately would be an understatement. Stefan let out a huff of air when I explained about the sire-bond, sinking into the couch cushions with a bleak expression on his face. He put his head in his hands out of shame, I knew, for not being able to notice what was wrong with his newfound friend. Damon, on the other hand, sneered in distaste. He didn't care about Caroline- only that Katherine had had someone spying on us for nearly a month now and we hadn't been able to tell.

"It's settled then," he said, shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it onto his armchair. "We're putting the bitch down."

Stefan nodded, expression still hidden by his hands. I couldn't help the smile that curled up on the corners of my lips, although I still felt sick at the thought of what Caroline had been going through. It was something of a relief to know that we were finally going to come up with a concrete plan to exterminate Katherine Pierce.

I bit my lip and nodded, reaching for the phone in my pocket. "Am I assembling the Avengers?"

Damon gave the go ahead, and within twenty minutes, the entire Scooby Doo gang was pulling into the Boarding House driveway and piling into the living room- and I mean the _entire_ gang. Carson and the Saltzmans, Anastasia, Elena, Jeremy- Even Bonnie came along! I had texted her, not really expecting her to show up, but I guess, since her and Elena's relationship was getting along pretty well, she had decided to come along and help out.

Which was good, considering what Damon had planned.

Keep Elena out of the line of fire, make Katherine believe that I was going to give her the moonstone, lure her to a room she would be trapped in (courtesy of Bonnie and Anastasia's magic), and then fucking obliterate her.

There wasn't a single part of that plan that I was not completely okay with.

The only downside to any plot, however, was the prep work. Elena and Anastasia were the ones with the toughest job: figuring out how to lock Katherine in a room at the Lockwood's house for an extended period of time. Jeremy helped out, seeing as he was probably smarter than all of us combine and was also apparently dating Bonnie now (don't ask me how I felt about that). Carson and Alaric went to work teaching all the newbies (Keeley, Caroline, and Jeremy once he was finished playing with the dark arts) how to kill a vampire. And Damon, Stefan and I had the wonderful job of convincing Elena to stay the hell away from the masquerade ball.

Yeah. Easier fucking said than done.

"I'm not running away from this," Elena insisted, crossing her arms firmly over her chest. "This monster has _stabbed my sister_ , attacked my family, and made my life a living hell for months! I-"

"And she's going to keep doing so unless we kill her," I informed her, fighting back the urge to yawn. It was verging on one in the morning. "We can't screw this up, Elena, and I know you want to be there, but-"

Here, Damon interrupted: "But you're a liability. You're the most important person in the world to Sidney, and Katherine knows that. If she sees you at this party she will use you as a bargaining chip when it matters most, and everything will be fucked. Got it?"

I stared at Damon in shock for a moment. Sometimes I forgot how well he knew me- better than I knew myself, almost.

My mouth went dry and my hands started twitching, aching to curl themselves in his silky black locks and _tug._ I wanted to kiss my way up the graceful expanse of his long neck and taste the skin along that razor sharp jaw of his. Wanted to rip his overly-expensive white t-shirt down the middle and leave bite marks on his pecs. Wanted to explore every inch of his mouth with his tongue and then move on further and further down until-

Stefan was staring at me.

I realized, suddenly, how loud my heart must have been at that moment, pounding in my chest. My face felt like it was on fire and I glared at him, raising an eyebrow as if to say _What the fuck are you looking at?_

With a mischievous grin, Stefan glanced between me and Damon, who had finally realized the weirdness in the room, and asked, "Everything alright, Sidney?'

I grit my teeth. "Shut the fuck up, Stefan."

The whole "shut the fuck up" thing seemed to be my standby retort these days. Which sucked because it was a stupid one. I couldn't help but wonder if being stabbed twice affected my brain's dossier of clever comebacks.

Stefan just snorted at me and sat back in his seat. "You know, I don't see what the problem is between you two," he commented, ignoring the death rays I was sending at his head. "I think you're perfect for each other. You're both assholes."

"Go fuck yourself," Damon and I chorused, prompting Elena to scowl at all three of us and smack me over the head.

"Ow!" I chirped, rubbing the area of impact.

Elena sent me one last glare. "Alright, I get it," she said in a clipped voice. "I'll stay home. Happy?"

"Very," Damon replied. "Alaric will, of course, be at your house with Jenna all night, just to make sure you keep that promise."

"Honestly, fuck you, Damon."

* * *

Picking out a dress became infinitely more difficult when you knew you were going to be facing off against a sadistic, evil vampire while wearing it.

I am speaking, of course, from experience. For some reason, fights like that always seem to happen at town events, which always seem to require me to wear a dress, which can lead to a lot of unfortunate accidents if you don't know what to wear.

Strapless bras are definitely a no-go when being thrown around by mythical creatures- as are dangerously short skirts. High heels, while impractical, are usually pretty hard to get around- although God knows I've had plenty of experience fighting in them.

I ended up settling on a happy medium, borrowed from Anastasia's closet. The dusty rose dress had thick straps and a scandalously tiny skirt. I paired it with the compression shorts I wore during soccer practices and the nude pumps I found myself wearing to every Lockwood party.

In the haste of getting our murderous plot underway, however, I had forgotten a key accessory, and when Elena shoved a mask into my hands as I exited my bedroom, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"You're a life-saver," I told her, shoving crazy brown waves away from my face.

Elena just nodded, surveying me with a worried glimmer in her eyes. "I wish I could be there," she said.

"I know," I replied, because I did.

She had been on the phone with either Stefan or Damon all day, trying to convince them that there was a better way than this. Elena had never been a fan of senseless violence in the movies- let alone in real life. I could vividly remember her bursting into tears when she was nine and two boys got in a fight on the school playground. I had to spend an hour in a broom closet hugging her afterwards. I ended up getting a timeout for scaring my teacher so badly when she couldn't find me.

"They'll be okay, Elena," I assured her, suddenly glad that she didn't know I was going to be a part of this fight.

It was a tactical lie. We all knew Elena would panic if she found out that I was going to be involved in killing Katherine. And a surprise appearance from my sister in the midst of the madness could lead to all of our destruction.

So I bit down the guilt I felt at deceiving her and pressed on; "Damon and Stefan are smart. They know what they're doing because they've done this before. They'll be fine."

Elena nodded one more time, although she still looked painfully unsure, and leaned in for a quick, tight hug.

"You stay safe, too," she breathed into the ends of my hair, just brushing my collarbone. My chin sat comfortably on top of her head.

"I will," I swore. "You won't have to check me out of the hospital again anytime soon, alright?"

She spat out a quick laugh, pulling back. "Alright," she agreed, casting me one last glance. "You look beautiful, by the way," she told me.

"You think?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious. I had only recently figured out how to pull off my non-consensually-short hair. The circumstances that had led to the cut were ones I didn't like to think about, and I shook off the impending memories quickly.

I needed a clear head tonight.

* * *

Keeley had never met Katherine Pierce, and really had no desire to.

This was, of course, the same vampire who had seduced and then turned the Salvatore brothers. The same vampire who had abandoned them without a second thought and was planning on ripping Mystic Falls apart for the sake of a pretty rock. The same vampire who had stabbed Sidney and sicked Mason on all of them and technically murdered Caroline.

In all honesty, this was pretty much Keeley's first time getting super involved in any supernatural plots- evil or otherwise. She had been attacked by the occasional psycho tomb vampire and had dived into the occasional well, but aside from that- pretty much nothing. Keeley had a sneaking suspicion that this was her dad's doing, but it kept her out of the line of fire, which she was more than okay with, so she didn't mind.

And then someone who looked like a sluttier version of Elena Gilbert ambushed her at the masquerade party, and she kind of figured that whole shtick had gone to shit.

"Keeley!" Not-Elena breathed. "It's so good to see you- You look great."

Keeley forced a smile, hoping that she was generally known as a ditz would hide the fact that she didn't have a clue what to say to Katherine. "Thanks. You look… Um. Different." She coughed and ran a hand through her hair. "In a good way," she hastened to tack on at the end.

Keeley was forced to acknowledge that she kind of sucked at this whole secret-plan thing.

Katherine shrugged. "Thank you," she murmured, and then there was silence for a few seconds. She surveyed Keeley with sharp eyes from behind her mask, lifting a strawberry to her lips and taking a bite. Keeley held back a shudder.

"Where is everyone?" Katherine asked a moment later, an innocent smile gracing her mouth. "I feel like you're the only one I've seen all night."

 _Well, Anastasia, Bonnie and Jeremy are getting a veritable prison cell ready for you while Sidney and the Salvatores plan to murder your ass._

For some reason, Keeley doubted that would be the wisest reply in this situation.

"Uh." Keeley swallowed down the saliva in the back of her throat, running a hand through her hair again. "I don't know?" she offered. "But, um, I think Sidney is getting ready at Anastasia's house? I mean, that's what she usually does, right?"

Katherine hummed unhappily. "So she's not here yet, then?" she said, obviously not expecting a reply. "How about Stefan?"

"I don't know," Keeley said, again, because she honestly didn't. She realized, suddenly, that the more truth you put into your lies, the easier they were to tell. "I know he's coming, though. How are you two, by the way?"

And here, Katherine grinned. "Better. A lot better."

From over the vampire's shoulder, Keeley made eye contact with Caroline. Caroline raised her eyebrows at her, obviously wanting to know if she needed rescuing, and Keeley nodded as subtly as she could. The longer she could keep Katherine occupied, the better, she figured. And if all went well, they hopefully wouldn't have to deal with her anymore after this.

Emboldened by the watchful eyes of her best friend, Keeley pressed on, "I mean, we know Damon will be here, though, since Sidney is coming."

Hey, why not poke the sleeping bear with the stick?

Katherine's jaw tensed visibly, and the strawberry stem in her palm got smushed. "Why would you say that?"

"I mean, duh," said Keeley. "They're in love."

And then the strawberry got smushed again.

Keeley couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly satisfied by Katherine's displeasure. Sometimes it just felt nice to antagonize people- especially people who made her best friend's life a living hell.

There was a large, calloused hand on Keeley's bare shoulder then, and Stefan's voice rumbled, "Keeley, you look nice tonight."

Keeley just nodded, and her eyes tracked a waiter with a tray of champagne flutes from across the room. God, she needed a drink. "Thanks, man," she replied. "You, too."

Stefan eyed Katherine uncertainly, and Keeley didn't miss his subtle shift in front of her, blocking her from the vampire. "Elena," he lied through his teeth. "How about a dance?"

Katherine just smiled, dropping the crushed remains of the strawberry, and took his hand. "I'd love one."

And off they sauntered, a picture of Antebellum grace and hatred in the midst of a modern war zone.

* * *

By the time I finally made it to the Lockwoods' Masquerade, it was already way past the time to be considered fashionably late.

It wasn't an accident, either. Zero hour was ten o'clock, and the party started at seven, and I wasn't really eager to spend three hours nervous as hell, trying to avoid Damon and getting drunk off of champagne. Instead, I hid at Sundays with Susie and buried myself in, like, five iced lattes and a plate of donuts. Let it never be said that I was not a coward.

Thankfully, it was so late into the evening that Mrs- or Miss, now, I guess- Lockwood wasn't at her post in front of the door. Instead, there were two hired fire-twirlers in clown costumes that covered their faces. If Elena had been here, I know she would have been freaked out by them. She's been terrified of clowns ever since I made her watch _It_ with me when she was twelve.

I felt guilty lying to her about how involved I would be in all of this- but I couldn't let her place herself in the line of fire. Neither Stefan nor Damon were happy about me insisting to be a part of the fight, either, to tell you the truth, but I had demanded it. Katherine had stabbed me, harassed my little sister, and driven the love of my life out of his mind for centuries, and I'd be damned if I wasn't the one who finished her off.

The first people I saw when I finally made it into the ballroom were Bonnie and my little brother.

More of the mind-fucks via Jeremy, in that case.

Bonnie waved at me, which I took as a cue to come over, and I made my way through the pulsing dance floor, snagging myself a flute of champagne on my way.

Bonnie and I weren't exactly on good terms. Sure, she helped out whenever Elena was in danger, and sure, she had proved trustworthy when the safety of the entire town was on the line. But I couldn't forget what had happened in January. Long story short, she had tricked all of us into thinking that she had taken a magic spell off of the Gilbert Device- a machine that my psychopathic uncle was going to use to kill all of the vampires in Mystic Falls. Little did we know, Bonnie had faked the repeal, which lead to me giving the device back to Isobel and my uncle, and Damon and I almost getting ourselves killed via burning building. Call me crazy for not trusting her after all of that, but she hadn't apologized, and this was one of those very rare occasions where I decided to hold a grudge.

My pushover tendencies only extended toward my family, best friends, and vampire not-boyfriends. Bonnie Bennet was none of the above, and so she no longer had my trust.

"Hey," I said, eyeing the way Bonnie and Jeremy were holding hands. "What's up?"

Jeremy had the decency to flush slightly, but he didn't untwine his fingers from Bonnie's. "Where've you been, Sid?" he asked. "The room's all ready for you guys. Stefan's been distracting Katherine for the past fifteen minutes."

He nodded down to the dancefloor, and I fought back a snarl at the sight of Katherine with her claws wrapped around Stefan's shoulders, whispering to him as they danced. From the pained expression on his face, I gathered that the conversation was not a pleasant one.

Bonnie was staring at me, something of a grin curling up on her mouth. "Damon's already in the room," she told me, a knowing tilt to her eyebrows that I didn't know how to feel about. "If you want, you can go down and save Stefan and we can get this show on the road."

"You're oddly eager about all of this," I commented, not a little bit of suspicion wrinkling my nose.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, come on, Sidney. That was months ago- I swear I'm not going to try to kill your boyfriend again."

"He is not my boyfriend," I told her quickly.

"Okay, well." Bonnie huffed, tugging her mask off so she could look me directly in the eye with no interference. Jeremy seemed vaguely uncomfortable. "Look, Sidney, I'm sorry. Okay? I am so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking, and if I could take it back, I would."

I stared at her for a moment more.

Bonnie was nothing if not sincere, and I saw in her face the desperation for forgiveness. Truth be told, I missed the easy, playful friendship the two of us used to have. With my relationship with Damon in shambles, me being kicked off of the soccer team, Anastasia acting like a head case, Caroline freaking out about being a vampire, and Elena being as gentle and hesitant as usual, I could use my old camaraderie with Bonnie back. Everything was just so heavy. It would be nice having a friend to take that edge off.

So I sighed and downed my flute of champagne in one go. "Give me, like, three days, and we'll be good to go," I told her, with only a little bit of grumpiness.

Bonnie let out a whoop of relief, pulling me into a hug and smiling that Bonnie smile. "Oh, thank God. I missed you not hating me!"

"I didn't _hate_ you," I waffled. "I just… didn't appreciate your presence, is all."

The witch snorted before taking a sip of her mix drink. Jeremy was slowly edging away from us, still seeming awkward, and Bonnie fastened a hand around his arm and dragged him back. "Well, you can get back to 'appreciating my presence' after you kick Katherine's ass. Now go. Be a bad ass."

Jeremy nodded quickly, looking relieved that the feelings talk was over. "Stefan looks like he's about to shit a brick," he told me. "Be safe, Sid. Love you."

"Love you, too," I replied, voice noticeably softer, and then I was heading back down the stairs again, into the lair of the beast.

Stefan looked inordinately pleased to see me when I appeared over Katherine's shoulder, and when she turned away from him to see who he was smiling at, she grinned at me.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," she commented. "You're looking sexy tonight, Sidney."

"I don't know if I should be flattered or creeped out," I countered.

Stefan glanced between the two of us with furrowed brows, obviously ready to step in if our verbal exchange turned into a physical one.

Katherine gave me a once-over straight out of _Heathers_ before sing-songing; "That dress doesn't look big enough to hide a moonstone in, though, and I don't see a purse. So where is my rock?"

I couldn't help it. I snorted at her.

"Yeah, about that," I retorted. "Go to hell."

Katherine froze.

And then she reached out, grabbed the person nearest to her on the dance floor, and snapped their neck.

How the rest of the party didn't notice Katherine literally fucking murder someone was beyond me.

Stefan grabbed me around the waist and hauled me off of the dance floor before I could start screaming. In hindsight, this was probably a good idea. If, by some miracle, no one had noticed Katherine actually kill someone in the middle of the party, we certainly didn't want me going ape shit to bring any attention to it.

"Holy shit," I breathed, once Stefan had us sequestered in an upstairs alcove in the Lockwood manor, and was I crying or was that sweat? "Holy shit, she killed someone."

"Here." Stefan shoved something cold and smooth into my hands. When I looked down, I saw that it was a glass filled with some sort of alcoholic beverage he had probably snagged on our way up here. "Drink this."

As I chugged it, I couldn't help but realize that this was my fault. One of the people I was supposed to protect had died tonight, because I just couldn't keep my big mouth shut.

Stefan sighed, peeling his mask off and rubbing at his eyes in exhaustion. "I know," he muttered. "I know. But the only way we can end this is to kill her, and you need to have a clear head for that."

I felt like I was about to throw up. But Stefan was right, and Katherine needed to go, and I couldn't act like an amateur right now.

So I nodded and downed the rest of my drink, setting the empty glass down on a windowsill once I was done. "You're right," I said, and nodded again. "I'm going to go meet up with Damon and get ready. You get Katherine."

Stefan dipped his head and slipped his mask back on. "Let's finish this."

* * *

Anastasia, Jeremy and Bonnie had set up the trap for Katherine in a drawing room on the second floor of the house. It was pretty much empty, aside from a large painting of flowers in a pond on one wall, and a gigantic, gilded mirror on the other. Damon stood in the middle of the room, even more dashing than usual in an all-black suit, flipping a stake over and over in his hand.

He glanced up when I entered the room, letting the door shut behind me, and wolf whistled. "Damn, Siddie," he expounded. "You look even more beautiful than usual. I'm a lucky man."

I glared at him, even if it was half-hearted. "I feel the need to remind you that we are not a couple."

" _Yet_."

I choked on my own spit, sufficiently flustered, and he sent me a wolfish grin. "Yeah, well…" I spluttered. "We aren't right now- so there!"

Damon scoffed at me. "'So there'?" he asked. "Really, Siddie? That's the best you could come up with?"

"Just- shut up!"

"I really fucking love you, you know that?"

My face went bright red, and I felt like my heart had stopped beating.

"What?" I croaked.

 _Did he really just say that?_

"I love you," Damon repeated, and I was pretty sure that my stomach did a backflip and then dropped out of my body completely. "In case it wasn't obvious enough already."

"You- you-" I gulped, feeling like I had just been sucker-punched.

Damon had just told me that he loved me.

 _Again._

And I, as a reflex reaction (because I couldn't take it anymore and I _missed him_ and I _wanted him_ ), was about to say it back-

When Stefan walked in.

"She's coming," he barked at us, apparently oblivious to the electricity zinging through the air. "Caroline should be sending her our way any second."

Damon snorted, yanking his tie off, and bitched, "I'm _so_ glad Blondie's on our team. Remind me again why we're trusting someone with a sire bond to the sociopath?"

"Because she's our friend," I replied, shaking off what had just happened. I needed to focus. "And she's not a serial killer unlike _some people_ I know."

"Do you two mind pausing this for a moment?" Stefan asked, visibly uncomfortable. "Now isn't the best time, don't you think?"

"Sorry, Stefan," I apologized automatically. Damon just laughed and flipped his stake again.

In the tense minute of waiting for Katherine to arrive, I toed off my high heels and kicked them into a corner, tugging out the stake strapped to my thigh and the small pistol, loaded with wooden bullets, that was tucked into my bra. I tucked the skirt of my dress into the spandex shorts I was wearing beneath it, and threw my mask into a corner of the room as a last minute impulse.

It was nice to actually be able to prepare for a fight for once instead of just being ambushed at a party or something.

Not a moment too soon, either, because just then the door creaked open and Katherine entered, a vaguely pissed off look on her pretty face.

"Sidney," she acknowledged. "Damon, Stefan. Why am I not surprised to find all three of you here?"

"I dunno," Damon snarked off. "Maybe you're just used to people trying to kill you at this point."

Katherine opened her mouth, about to say something predictably bitchy-

And that was when I shot her.

Again. And again. And again.

I won't lie. It felt really, really fucking good.

At least until Katherine finally came to her senses and did a Matrix-style dodge. In the next instant she was in front of me, talons curling around the wrist holding the gun. And then I was flying through the air, catapulted into the gilded mirror. It shattered around my back, and I landed among the shards of glass, back a mess of bleeding scratches.

I wish I could say that was the first time I had been launched into a pane of glass by a vampire.

Katherine probably would have taken advantage of my prone state and ended me then if it weren't for Stefan. He grabbed her by the hair as she turned to attack me again, and his other hand went to her chin, obviously trying to snap her neck. But quicker than I could blink she had evaded him-

And then Damon was there, stake in hand. Katherine dodged a blow to the chest by turning. I jumped to my feet, ignoring the fragment of glass that lodged itself into the sole of my bare foot with the movement. I grabbed Katherine by the shoulders, holding her in place as Damon buried his stake into her back.

Katherine shrieked in pain, batting me aside like I was a ragdoll once again.

With one hand, Stefan grabbed me by the dress strap and kept me from face-planting, and with the other, he landed a punch directly on Katherine's cheek. Damon had picked up my gun from the floor and was shooting it again, bullets peppering Katherine's arm like freckles. I righted myself and lunged for her with my stake, landing a few good swipes across her stomach.

"Stop!" Katherine cried, trying to wrestle away. But the combined efforts of the three of us kept her in place. "You don't understand what you're doing!"

Damon gave a bitter laugh- so much like the Other Damon that I had been terrified of once upon a time. The one that had killed a man for kidnapping me and hesitated to save me in the tomb. "Oh, I think we do," he mocked, whispering into her ear as if they were still lovers. "Sometimes you just have to put a feral bitch down."

The childish part of me wanted to go, _"Oh! Sick burn!"_ and high-five him, but another, stronger part of me wanted to just go ahead and kill Katherine, and that, all praise to the highest, was the part of me that won.

With a grunt of finality, I stepped back from the hodge-podge of tangled limbs that was Katherine and the Salvatores. Damon had her by the back of the neck, forearm brushing up against the stake still entombed in her back, and Stefan was hanging on so hard to her arm that I was surprised it hadn't snapped off.

I adjusted my grip on my stake, eyes landing on her rapidly falling chest. _There._

"Enjoying the view, Sidney?" Katherine snapped, blood splattering out of her mouth as she did so.

"No," I replied, disgusted by even the idea of being attracted to this monster. "Just trying to find the most direct path to your heart."

There was a clatter from the general direction of the exit. I turned, utterly confused (Caroline and Keeley were supposed to be making sure no one came near here) and the doors were bashed open so hard they nearly flew off the hinges. Jeremy came stumbling in, a look of sheer panic on his face.

" _Stop_!" he cried, panting. "Sidney, don't kill her!"

"Why?" I dropped my stake automatically, striding over to Jeremy instead and grabbing at his shoulders in an effort to calm him down. "Why? What's going on?"

Jeremy ran a hand through his hair and huffed out, "I don't know- some kind of spell-" He shook his head and swallowed loudly. "Sidney, if you kill Katherine, you kill Elena, too."

* * *

Anastasia couldn't help but think that the hours following the battle in the drawing room were a bit anticlimactic.

She had been with Bonnie and Jeremy in the Lockwoods' backyard when a very irate Elena came rushing up to them, Alaric following along after her. Apparently, she hadn't known that Sidney would be participating in the fight with Katherine, and had come to the party to try and keep her older sister out of harm's way. Elena had been in the middle of chewing out Bonnie and Jeremy for not telling her the truth when she began to bleed. It didn't take long to figure out what was happening, and then Jeremy was running up the stairs to stop the fight before it could kill his sister.

Bonnie was the one who came to the conclusion that a witch was causing all of this, as well as the one who tracked Lucy down and convinced her to betray Katherine and help them get rid of her once and for all. Alaric provided the two witches with the moonstone they needed (where he had gotten it from, Anastasia didn't want to know), and then helped Anastasia carry a still-bleeding Elena to an empty sitting room close to the garden.

They laid her down on a sofa, and Anastasia sat with her while Alaric ran to get a First-Aid kit. He returned not much later and helped patch Elena back up. Elena was torn between still being mad at them and profusely thanking them for taking care of her for almost an hour.

Bonnie came in at one point and told all of them what had happened: Lucy had tricked Katherine into thinking that she was giving her the moonstone. Instead, she had spelled her into unconsciousness. The Salvatores were on their way to the old tomb now with her body in tow. According to Bonnie, they were going to imprison Katherine in the grave she had tricked them into believing was hers for all eternity.

Anastasia was of the opinion that this was a very fitting end for Katherine Pierce.

Alaric left not long after to find his daughter and Caroline and make sure the two were alright. Bonnie went to meet up with Jeremy to de-spell the drawing room, and when Anastasia asked if she needed help, insisted that the alchemist stay with Elena and make sure she was still fine.

A few more minutes passed, and then, finally, Sidney entered.

"You look like hell," Elena commented, because Sidney kind of did.

Sidney just snorted, raising the bottle of wine she had stolen to her lips and taking a swig. "I feel like it," she groaned. Her brown waves were even messier than usual, and Anastasia didn't miss the paper cut-esque scratches all down her back.

Another swallow of wine. Sidney wiped the back of her mouth with her hand and shook her head. "How are you two doing? Okay?"

"I'm fine," Anastasia assured her. "And Elena should be, too. It looks like the connection between her and Katherine was diluted, almost. None of her wounds are very deep, and they're all healing really fast."

There was a tangible look of relief on Sidney's face, and she stumbled her way over to the couch her sister was sat on, Elena hugging her when she finally took a seat. "I'm glad you're alright," Sidney murmured into her younger sister's hair. "But I'm pissed you came here at all."

Elena opened her mouth, eyes narrowed, probably about to chew Sidney out for not telling her the full truth, but shook her head instead and carded a hand through her silky hair. "Well, you shouldn't have lied to me," she replied. "But I understand why you did."

Sidney breathed out a sigh and gave a tired grin. "I'm sorry," she said shortly, and just like that, they were okay again.

Anastasia couldn't help but be jealous of that relationship. Elena and Sidney had always been closer than normal sisters. Their fights never lasted longer than a day, and Anastasia knew that there was almost nothing Sidney wouldn't do to keep Elena safe. Their bond was a strong one, and more often than not, it made Anastasia wish that she had a sister of her own.

The reminder of her more-than-precarious family situation sobered Anastasia, and she was struck once more with the desire to tell Sidney everything before it was too late.

Before Sidney believed that Anastasia, like her father, was working for the monster who wanted to kill Elena.

But Katherine's threats swung above Anastasia's head like a guillotine, and Anastasia remained quiet once again.

Sidney glanced at Anastasia again and grinned, tapping the body of the bottle she was holding against the bottom of the couch. "Thanks for looking out for her, 'Stasia," she praised. "We couldn't have done any of this without you."

Anastasia forced a grin and shrugged. "Hey. What are friends for?"

One of Sidney's throaty chuckles bubbled out of her throat, chased quickly by a mouthful of wine, and Sidney motioned at the door back into the party with the bottle. "Alaric and Keeley are waiting to take you and Caroline home," she said. "Get some sleep, 'Stasia. You've been super helpful tonight."

"Get some sleep, yourself," Anastasia replied. "You did kind of just fight off an insane vampire."

Sidney groaned again, laughing as she did so, and nodded as enthusiastically as she could in her state of exhaustion. "Yeah. You're telling me. Night, 'Stasia."

"Goodnight," Elena echoed, stealing the bottle from Sidney's hands and downing a few mouthfuls herself. "Thanks for everything. Drive safe!"

Anastasia nodded again and slipped out of the room, but she couldn't shake the sick feeling in her stomach. She was about to betray the Gilberts in the worst way, and she couldn't stop it. She couldn't tell them, couldn't tell anyone, unless she wanted her mother to die-

 _Her mother._

Almost without conscious thought, Anastasia was pulling her cellphone out of her purse and dialing Gwendolyn Carter's number.

* * *

We stayed at the Lockwoods' house for a while, sharing a bottle of wine and trying to catch our breath.

Both Elena and I were beat up as hell and in no hurry to get home- Quite frankly, I thought I may have been too tired to drive. Also, there was still a fairly large shard of glass in my foot. I felt its presence every time I shifted on the couch we were sitting on.

Eventually, though, we drained our bottle of wine down to the very last drop, and decided that it was time to go.

The two of us limped our way out of the house, down the drive, to the large cement parking lot that housed my Toyota. I was so exhausted I could barely think, much less be completely aware of my surroundings-

And maybe that was why our attacker was able to take me by surprise.

It was quick. A man in a clown mask- one of the hired fire-twirlers I recognized from the party- jumped us. Elena screamed, and before I could even reach for my stake, I felt a stinging pain to the back of my head, and everything went dark.

When I woke up, I was in pain, and I was alone.

And Elena was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: Chapter 5, done and dusted! I'm so sorry that this is late (again). This chapter was a lot longer than expected, and therefore took a lot longer than expected to write. All the same, I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review if you feel so inclined.**

 **On another note, I'm not quite sure when Chapter 6 will be up. I have to post** _ **Jane Doe**_ **before New Year's, and my next semester of college starts on the ninth of January. I also happen to be moving into my first apartment on the sixth (Yay!), so things are going to be chaotic for a while. I will do my best to have the next installment of this fic up by the sixteenth of January, but no promises.**

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 **TVDLover: I'm glad you laughed! Thank you for the review!**

 _ **Next chapter:**_ _The rescue mission is underway, and Sidney encounters her first Original._


	6. Much Ado About Elena

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 6: Much Ado About Elena**

It didn't really hit me until I walked through the door of the Boarding House, but when it did, I nearly fell to my knees at the despair of it all.

The despondency must have shown on my face, because Stefan was on me in an instant, carting me over to Damon's armchair and crouching down in front of me, forcing eye contact that I was too dazed to seek on my own. I dimly noticed him dabbing at the blood on the back of my head. I must have been hit a lot harder than I thought I had. How the fuck had I been able to drive? Adrenaline?

"Sidney," Stefan called, trying his best to grab my scattered attention. "Sidney, what happened?"

"They- he-" I stuttered and then shook my head, eyesight going blotchy. "They took her, Stefan. They took Elena."

His face went dark. "Who?"

"I don't know. I _don't know_!" I spluttered.

Everything was fuzzy. I had no clue who took my sister or why, all I knew was that they did and there was nothing I wouldn't do to get her back. I didn't care who I had to kill or where I had to go, but I was going to save her, and no one and nothing was going to stop me.

Stefan heaved in a great breath. It blew out directly into my face, and the unintentional gust grounded me, bringing me back down from my hysteria.

"Damon's 'visiting' Katherine," Stefan told me, voice low like the twang of a base. "I'll go call him and tell him what's happening."

I nodded numbly, twisting and untwisting my fingers together on my lap. Damon was going to raise hell when he heard about this. I relished that fact. I wanted someone who was not Stefan and was not me to feel as frantic and upset as I did. And Damon never disappointed when it came to making a scene.

When Stefan came back from the kitchen, he had two mugs of coffee in hand and passed the bigger of the two over to me. I thanked him with a nod and started sipping. The caffeine did little to calm the pounding in my brain.

Stefan surveyed my bloodied head with a critical eye. "That looks bad," he commented needlessly. "Want me to take a look at it?"

I forced a wry grin, even though I could sense the familiar heat in the corner of my eyes welling up again. "What? Are you a doctor now?"

"I did go to medical school in the sixties," he pointed out, although what little humor there was in his voice was obviously forced.

My stomach boiled unhappily. I didn't react to his joke- couldn't bring myself to- and stared mutely into my cup of coffee.

"Why would someone take Elena?" I breached after a few minutes had passed. "What does she have to do with all of this?"

A shadow passed across Stefan's features. "I don't know," he sympathized. "But I have an awful feeling that it's about that fucking curse."

Shock of Stefan using the f-word aside, I couldn't help but agree with him. The Curse of the Sun and Moon seemed to be the silver lining in every storm cloud that came our way lately- and Elena's name always came up in conversations about it. I didn't like the way Katherine talked about my sister. Not at all. And I certainly didn't like the nagging notion…. Well…

Anastasia had told me a while ago that most spells required the caster to give something back in return. A sacrifice. And a curse as big as the one controlling the majority of the supernatural world must have a high price to pay. And if the curse needed a sacrifice to be reversed and if Elena's name kept coming up and if she had just gone _missing- holy fucking shit-_

I swallowed a mouthful of vomit and reached for my coffee.

Stefan glared unhappily. "Did you come to the same conclusion as me?"

"Yes," I replied immediately. I set my coffee down; I couldn't even think of putting anything into my stomach for fear that it might come back up. "Which makes Elena going missing even more terrifying."

There was a bang and Damon appeared before us.

"What the _fuck,_ " he bristled, "happened to Elena?"

"She was taken," I explained. My voice wasn't quivering, but my stomach was. "We stayed at the Lockwood house for a minute to calm down before heading out to my car. She was going to drive because I had been drinking after the fight. One of the fire-twirlers from the party snuck up on us and took me out before kidnapping her."

 _This is all my fault,_ I thought miserably. _If I hadn't been drinking, if I hadn't been distracted, if I hadn't been tired, if I hadn't…_

Damon's hand came down and lightly swatted my shoulder, and when I opened my mouth to chew him out for it, he interrupted me: "Stop doing that thing where you blame yourself for everything. It's not helping."

I huffed at him, annoyed, and said, "Whatever. What did Katherine have to say about all of this?"

"I didn't tell her what happened," Damon replied. "But she did try to warn me about Elena being in danger- as if that's anything new."

Icy fingers buried themselves in my chest and squeezed. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, and tugged uncertainly at the frayed hem of my dress. "So she knows what's happening?" I ventured, though we all knew that even if Katherine _did_ have some insight into this mess, the chances of her explaining it to us were slim to none.

Stefan's stare hardened and he leapt to his feet, cup of coffee spilling to the floor uselessly. "What are we waiting for, then? We need to ask her what's going on."

"Jesus, Steffy," Damon bitched. He had dropped to his knees and was rubbing at the carpet with a throw blanket, in an effort to keep the coffee from leaving a stain. "Watch the rug, will you?" He tossed the sodden coverlet over his shoulder and straightened. "There's no point in asking Katherine for information. She won't give it until it suits her own interests, and we don't have enough time to play her games."

A kind of half-huff half-whine came out of Stefan's mouth, and he pushed his face into his hands, rubbing at it as if to wipe paint off of it. "So what do we do?"

"Find out where Elena's been taken to and get her out of there," I reasoned, chest too tight around my heart. "We don't need to know who kidnapped her, or why. We can find that out later."

Damon nodded his assent and got back to his feet, rubbing his hands together. "Alright, then. Let's grab one of the witches and get going."

"Elena left some things in my bedroom," Stefan volunteered gruffly. "I'll go get them for the tracking spell."

There was a hush for a split second as we waited for Stefan to disappear up the staircase to his attic bedroom, and then Damon was looming over me, hands on my shoulders, and saying, "Siddie, I'm so sorry."

A velvety lump rose in my throat, and I blinked back tears. "Me too," I croaked.

 _Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena-_

 _Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice-_

"But she's not dead, Siddie," Damon told me seriously, darkened eyes boring into mine. "They wouldn't have taken her if they wanted her dead."

 _They don't want her dead_ yet _anyway._

I nodded mutely despite that, even if there was bile in my throat. And Damon was still grabbing onto my shoulders, holding me together.

He was always the one who held me together.

I shook my head and stared up at him, eyebrows drawn. "Damon," I ventured, not sure what the hell I thought I was doing, telling him what I was about to tell him at a time like this. "You know I lov-"

"Got it," Stefan announced, materializing in the room.

"Fucking hell, Steffy!" Damon complained, and then his hands weren't on my shoulders anymore and he was across the room instead, and my cheeks were burning and Stefan suddenly looked very, very uncomfortable.

I cleared my throat. "You have something of Elena's for Bonnie to find her with?" I asked, motioning at the shirt in Stefan's hands.

He nodded mutely, still looking awkward, and I continued with, "Then let's go. Now. Please?"

We were a tight, embarrassed trio as we bundled our way out of the house and into one of Stefan's cars: a sleek, long, black thing that looked like a more modern version of the Impala Sam and Dean drove on _Supernatural._ Stefan was driving and Damon beat me to shotgun. I slid into the backseat with a surly scowl.

I called Bonnie as we pulled out of the driveway. It was going on four in the morning, but she still picked up after the third ring.

"Hello?" she uttered huskily, sleep tinging her voice.

"Bonnie," I hammered out. "The Salvatores and I are on our way over."

There was a shifting sound. I assumed she sat up in bed, and her voice sounded a little clearer when she replied, "Cool. Is there a reason why?"

"We need your help," I explained, not prepared for her to freak out on me over the phone. "Someone's taken Elena. Can you do a tracking spell for us?"

Bonnie didn't hesitate, although her voice shook. "Yeah. I'll be ready when you get here."

The call went dead and I set my phone down on my seat.

The air was suffocating in the cabin of the car. My head grew too heavy and I let it slump into my hands, palms chafing up and down across the planes of my face, smearing already-smeared makeup. I huffed out all the air left in my too-tight ribcage in an effort to breathe some life into a car full of dead people.

"So," Stefan breached as the dim lights of our sleeping town flicked by the window. "What exactly was I interrupting back there?"

"Shut the _fuck-"_ I spat at the same moment as Damon hissed, "Why would you even-"

"Okay, okay!" Stefan cried, lifting all but his thumb off of the steering wheel in a show of surrender. "I get it!"

"Then stop interrupting us," Damon mumbled grumpily, crossing his arms over his chest, so much like a child.

I fought back a hysterical giggle and leaned back into my seat, the leather of it irritating the still-bleeding scratches that covered my back, courtesy of Katherine. I was beginning to wonder if I had sustained any brain trauma over the course of the night. A lot of shit had gone down at the masquerade ball, man. It was a hell of a lot more entertaining than last year's, at least.

Bonnie was waiting in her driveway when we pulled up, and I chewed her out for it the minute I got out of the car.

"You realize vampires are kind of a big thing in this town," I commented, bustling her up to the front door. "Why the hell would you stand outside of your house for an extended period of time at night?"

Bonnie shrugged me off, ushering the three of us into her house as quietly as possible. "I was too nervous," she whispered. "How did Elena get taken?"

"I'll tell you later," I hedged, not eager to admit that my failure may have cost us my sister.

Bonnie didn't look happy, but she accepted it, which I was glad for. I think some part of her was worried she might ruin the newly-rekindled friendship between us. She wouldn't- I didn't have time to be petty right now- but I knew the fear was still there.

"Do you have something of Elena's?" Bonnie asked. Stefan nodded and handed over the shirt.

Bonnie already had a map, a pack of matches, a dagger, and a mixing bowl ready for our use. We all eased ourselves down in a circle around the supplies on the living room rug. My entire body ached as I moved to sit, and I had to hold back a groan. I was desperate for some Tylenol and a shower, but there was no time.

Damon's head snapped toward mine, and he raised an eyebrow at me in question. "You alright, Siddie?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I replied shortly. If I let on that I was in pain, he would try to give me his blood, and Stefan would try to convince me to stay here and let them get Elena.

 _Like hell._

Damon still looked suspicious, but Bonnie was already tossing Elena's shirt into the mixing bowl and striking a match. She tossed it into the bowl and it caught, the fire illuminating all of our faces suddenly. Stefan's was serious and drawn, Damon's sharp and bright, Bonnie's pale and narrowed with concentration. I could feel the exhaustion in mine, hanging heavily beneath my eyes and on my brow.

Bonnie began chanting under her breath, sending shivers up my spine like witchcraft always did. I didn't like interacting with it, but when you spend the majority of your time fighting the supernatural, you can't really get around using magic once in a while.

The dagger was picked up and sliced through the palm of Bonnie's hand. She held the flow of blood over the burning shirt and the fire went down immediately. Bonnie stirred the bowl and mixed the ash and blood together, before pouring the mixture onto the opened map. As we watched, the dark crimson liquid stretched and inched its way across most of Virginia, and down through North Carolina to South Carolina. Finally, it stretched and circled its way around a tiny dot of a town that almost made me snort at the ridiculousness of it: Myrtle Beach.

My sister had been kidnapped and taken to a tourist trap.

Bonnie's eyes flickered open, and she frowned down at what she had done for us. "Take this with you," she instructed, scooping the blood/ash mixture into a water bottle and handing it to me. "When you get there, get a map of the town and pour this on it. It'll give you the address."

"Thank you," I said sincerely, forcing myself to my feet and trying to hide the way my body was protesting. "I'll see you soon."

"You better have Elena with you when you do," Bonnie told me, eyes more serious than I had ever seen them.

"I will," I promised. "I'll get her back."

Bonnie nodded, and we left.

Damon beat me to the front seat again, and I sulked as we began the drive to Myrtle Beach, colored lights flashing past my eyes and hypnotizing me into a bit of a doze. I didn't realize we had reached my house until we were pulling into the driveway and Damon was getting out of the car. Immediately, I was on the defensive. If these two thought they were going to drop me off here and go save my sister themselves, they were horribly fucking mistaken.

"Um, you realize this isn't Myrtle Beach, right?" I asked Stefan, who just rolled his eyes at me and replied, "I know. Damon and I thought you might want a change of clothes and some Advil is all."

"Thanks," I muddled out slowly, a little mollified that the two vampires had thought to take some time to cater to the human in their midst.

Before I could blink, Damon was opening the car door and tossing a bundle of clothes at me, and then we were on the road again without another word.

The garb he had grabbed for me wasn't actually conducive to fighting vampires. The tank top was a joke of silk and lace (I went through a weird slutty faze sophomore year, okay?) and the jeans too tight to really move around in, but it was the thought that counted so I didn't complain for once.

"If either of you look back here while I'm changing I will shove my stake so far up your dicks that they'll invert in on themselves," I warned, exhaustion turning my snark a bit lame.

"Consider us warned," Stefan replied, eyes not diverting from the highway we were merging onto.

Damon just sniggered, although I knew he was tempted to look back at me just to piss me off and see what I would do.

Damon was a dick like that.

Changing in the backseat of a car is not an easy thing, as most girl's know, and by the time I had done so, my various aches, scrapes, and contusions hurt even more than they had beforehand. My vision kept going spotty, and I couldn't fight back the urge to close my eyes and let myself go. The drive to Myrtle Beach was close to six hours long, and God knew I was going to need a somewhat-full-night's sleep for saving Elena.

So I let my eyes slip shut, and I felt myself fall into oblivion.

* * *

When I woke up, the sun was shining so hard it hurt, and we were somewhere in North Carolina.

"Glad you're up," Damon chirped before I was fully aware of my surroundings. "We have a plan."

"Awesome. What is it?" I groaned back. I would have fucked Katherine for a cup of coffee right then.

The plan was ridiculously simple.

I shouldn't have been surprised, considering the stupidity that was the Salvatore brothers had been the ones to come up with it.

They were going to distract the vampires by fucking major shit up, and I was going to sneak in through a window or whatever the fuck, grab Elena, and kill anything that tried to stop me from getting her back to the car. Simple was good though- the majority of the time, anyway. Less details meant less things that could potentially go wrong, which was always a plus in our gang.

The shortness of the explanation made for little conversation, and Damon and I couldn't have our usual bitch-fest with Stefan third-wheeling worse than Harry Potter. The next fifty minutes passed in oppressive, worried silence, and I was left to stew in my panic over not knowing where, exactly, Elena was, or even if she was still alive.

When we finally pulled off onto the Myrtle Beach exit, Stefan parked at a brightly-painted gift shop with a grimace, and we all got out. Stefan went to the front counter, where there was a promising array of maps and pamphlets, I slipped off to the bathroom, and Damon went to go harass everyone he could and make an ass of himself- as per usual. When I got back, Stefan was nowhere in sight. Damon grabbed my hand and dragged me out the door without much explanation.

"Steffy's performing witchcraft for directions," he prompted once we were out of ear and eyeshot from everyone in the shop. "And I am about to force-feed you my blood."

My stomach roiled in displeasure.

I hated drinking vampire blood, didn't want the risk that came with it- didn't want to tempt the fates.

But Elena needed to me to be at the top of my game, and I wasn't going to let her down. So I nodded in acquiescence and said, "Alright. I'll drink it."

Damon looked positively gob smacked. "You're shitting me, right?" he asked incredulously. "No kicking and screaming or calling me a dickhead?"

"I mean, you are one," I was quick to inform him, "but you're right. I'm not going to be much use to Elena right now."

Still looking wary, Damon carted me over to the abandoned alley between gift shops, and pulled up the sleeve of his jacket. He yanked a hunting knife off of my belt and used it to slice a line through the vein on his wrist before holding it up to my mouth.

"If you don't drink it yourself, I _will_ force-feed you," he warned.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Chill, Damon," I mumbled. "I'm drinking the fucking blood."

I hated the taste of it, hated the effects of it, and hated the risks of it- But it was necessary.

When I had drunk all that I could, I lightly pulled away, wiping up the trickle of blood that spilled out of my lips. Damon's wound healed pretty much the moment my mouth stopped touching it, and he slid the knife back into the sheath on my belt loop. Stefan appeared over Damon's shoulder, holding a phone book and a blood-covered map.

"I've got the address," he announced, showing us the slip of paper it was written on. "Let's go."

Damon's blood brightened my eyes and sharpened my thoughts as we drove to Elena's location. My veins hummed with electricity, and my heart was going a mile a minute. I couldn't stop flipping my stake over in my hands, and when we pulled to a stop on a small track of beach, I felt like the entire world was in technicolor.

"There's a small house further down the beach. That's where Elena is," Damon supplied, reaching for the stake at his feet. "Everyone remember the plan?"

Stefan and I both nodded, getting out of the car and loading up on weapons. I felt like I had a small armada at my disposal: Stakes, guns, knives, wooden bullets, etc., etc.

The walk to the house was a quiet one. The building was made of clapboard, gray paint faded by the salty wind, and the basement hung off the side of a cliff. Without saying a word, Stefan and Damon materialized at a side door, probably able to listen in on what was happening inside the house. Their faces were grim, and I assumed that what they heard wasn't good.

But they didn't look as if they'd been staked through the chest, so I let myself believe that Elena was still alive.

We nodded at each other, and I slunk around to a window on the complete opposite side of the building. I forced the creaky hinges open, wincing when they screeched. From inside, I heard the Salvatores' voices mixing with another man's, and Elena's worried cry of, "Stefan! Damon!"

Without hesitation, I vaulted into the house and down the staircase I was standing in front of. Out of the corner of my eye, I noted the location of the door to the outside, keeping it in mind for an easier exit to get Elena out of.

When I made it to the lower level of the house, Damon and Stefan were double-teaming a tall, dark-haired vampire, and Elena was in the grasp of a waif of a woman.

She caught sight of me and her eyes widened, and I grabbed her by the arm, not stopping for hugs or rejoicing at having her back, and hauled her in the general direction of the stairs. The woman followed. I turned, Elena at my back, and drove a stake directly at her chest. Elena's hand stopped mine.

"She's a friend," Elena told me.

I nodded and lowered the weapon. "Upstairs," I grit out. " _Now._ "

The two of them were surprisingly adept at obeying orders that day and ran like hell. The woman turned into an invisible blur of movement, confirming my vampire suspicion-

And the unknown man caught sight of me.

"You're the sister," he assessed, British accent curling around curt words, "aren't you?"

"Siddie, get the hell out of here," Damon bellowed at me, grabbing the man by his shoulders and chucking him through a nearby wall. "He's an Original!"

 _What the hell is an Original?_

But I wasn't about to wait around to find out.

I dashed up the stairs, Elena in front of me, and at my back, I heard a loud crash and a cry of pain, courtesy of Stefan.

My shoulders clenched in anticipation. On instinct, I jerked the door open and shoved Elena out of it, whirling back around in time to meet the unknown Original's sharp fangs. My arm came up, and he got a mouthful of leather as opposed to my throat.

My other hand punched at his stomach, surprising him into releasing the hold he had on me.

"Fuck _off,_ " I grit out, royally done with fucking everything.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are frightfully rude?" the man mumbled.

"I'm sorry," I retorted, trying to stake him and then having said stake ripped out of my hands just as quickly. " _Please_ fuck off."

The man didn't respond. He just grabbed me by the shoulder and tossed me away from the door.

Hands caught me before I could tumble down the staircase, and Stefan's voice asked, "You alright, Sidney?"

"Where the hell have you two been?" I demanded, glaring daggers at Damon, who had taken my place in the game of keep-the-vampire-the-fuck-away-from-Elena.

"Stefan got stuck," Damon called back to me.

" _On what?_ "

"The ceiling."

I wrestled myself out of Stefan's grasp the same time the vampire pulled away from Damon. He lunged at me, wrongly seeing me as the weakest link, and I whipped out my gun, firing off a quick round of wooden bullets that buried themselves in his chest.

Damon tackled him, and the two went flying down the staircase, and thinking on my feet, I grabbed a nearby coatrack and broke the wooden stand over my knee. Stefan seemed to somehow understand exactly what I was intending to do, and the two of us flew down the steps to where Damon was holding the Original steady against a wall.

I wrapped both hands around my make-shift stake and shoved with all my might. The wood pierced through fabric and flesh, and Stefan's arms grabbed my waist and _pushed._ The stake met the wall and went through, and the Original's body shook once before going limp.

"Who the hell was he?" I panted, ripping away from Stefan and leaning my upper body weight against my thighs.

"Elijah," Damon replied. His eyes watched me worriedly. "One of the first vampires- hence the name Original."

 _Why did one of the Original vampires want my sister?_

I shook my head, backing as far away from the body as I could, and turned for the stairs. None of us had anything to say to each other as we made our way out of the house and onto the beach. Both the adrenaline and the vampire blood were fading from my system quick, but I still mustered up enough energy to run like a maniac when I saw Elena waiting for us next to the car.

She wheezed out something halfway between a laugh and a sob when I tackled her, and I let myself cry, finally. Tears were only allowed when I had my little sister back, safe, in my arms.

"Sorry," I warbled out once I had pulled back. "I got your hair all wet."

Elena chuckled at me, wiping at her glistening, red cheeks. "It's fine. I ruined your shirt."

I cried even harder and hugged her again.

* * *

The ride back to Mystic Falls was significantly less suffocating than the one previous. We were joined by Rose, Elena's smart-mouthed, Brit of a kidnapper (the second one- apparently there had been multiple). I was inclined to dislike her from the beginning, but her wit wore me down, and by hour three of the road trip, we had made nice and were, I guessed, okay friends.

She and Damon got along like a wildfire, which may or may not have rubbed me slightly the wrong way. But I thought I was at that point with him to know he wasn't going to leave me for someone else. He certainly told me as much any chance he could get.

We stopped at a mom and pop diner somewhere in North Carolina, seeing as I hadn't eaten in two days, and apparently, neither had Elena. The two of us fell asleep on top of each other very quickly after that, and the next time I opened my eyes, it was sunset, and we were home.

Elena and I both had about a billion text messages each from Jeremy, who had apparently lied to Jenna for us and told her that we were staying with the Salvatores. Bonnie, I guessed, was the one who told him what was going on some time the day before, and all of that day's messages were demands to know whether or not Elena was saved yet. I called him once we had disembarked at the Boarding House to assure him that all was well, and he relayed the message to Aunt Jenna that we would both be home in time for dinner.

After a quick change of clothes and an awkward, stilted thank you between Elena and Stefan, it was time to head back to reality.

But there was something I had to do, first.

As Stefan and Rose walked Elena to my car (Stefan finally getting the hint that Damon and I needed some privacy), I trailed after Damon into the kitchen.

"Do you want coffee or anything for the drive home?" he asked me. "Humans and an extended period of time with no sleep don't mix."

I bit my lip, hands curling and uncurling themselves at my sides. "Hey, Damon?" I bridged.

He turned around to look at me with a: "Yeah?" and I reached up, grabbed the sides of his face, and planted my lips against his.

It was the sweetest and most chaste kiss we had ever shared, and I felt so embarrassed by what I was doing that I pulled back seconds later.

"Thank you," I breathed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

I had a feeling that, if he could have, Damon would have been blushing.

"You're welcome," he told me honestly.

The taste of him still lingered on my mouth, and I bit down on my lower lip, cheeks so red I could feel them burning. "See you later," I squeaked out, before turning tail and running outside for all I was worth.

* * *

Jeremy, Elena and I came to a unanimous sibling agreement that we seriously needed to wind down. So after dinner we conglomerated in my bedroom and decided to get drunk. We compiled the six pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade from under Elena's bed, the Coronas in the empty drawer of Jeremy's dresser, and the rum and whiskey bottles hidden in the laundry basket on the top shelf of my closet. Once we were sure that Jenna was ensconced inside her room for the night, we got to work.

I nursed the same two Mike's Hards for the entire night, watching with only a little amusement as Elena and Jeremy drunk themselves into hilarity before passing out on my bed.

The moment Jeremy fell asleep mid-sentence, my smile dropped. I chugged the rest of my drink and pulled on a hoodie before throwing the window open and shimmying out.

I walked around the neighborhood for a long time.

We still didn't know why an Original vampire- or any vampire for that matter- wanted my sister. But we had a pretty good idea, and the possibility wasn't a good one.

My family's safety was on the line, and although that had been the case for a while now, this obstacle seemed an insurmountable one.

 _How could I possibly hope to kill an Original vampire?_

It was as I was thinking this that the back of my neck began to tingle. I stopped short, Converse squeaking against the pavement, and listened. The neighborhood was completely silent. It was too cold for crickets and too late for humans-

I whirled around in time to catch Elijah stalking me from a few yards away.

"Sidney Gilbert," he called, unreasonably pleasant. "I've been looking for you."

That didn't sound good.

"How are you alive?" was all I could think to ask, wishing, suddenly, that I had thought to bring more than just the small pistol in my back pocket.

Elijah shrugged a shoulder and came a few steps closer. He seemed remarkably put-together in a three-piece suit. It was hard to tell he had been impaled against a wall a few short hours ago. "It takes a bit more than a coat rack to kill an Original vampire."

"Dually noted," I replied, hand not-so-subtly inching toward my back pocket.

"If you're thinking about shooting me, I would refrain," Elijah commented. "I'm not interested in fighting you, Sidney. I just want to ask you a few questions."

"Like?" I growled.

"Like whether or not you're willing to help me."

And that; that _really_ chafed my chaps.

So I shot him.

Of course, he dodged, but it's the thought that counts. I shot him again and again until my gun ran out of bullets, and then I threw the gun at him. It missed him by inches, so I threw myself at him.

"I am _never_ going to help you," I roared, trying my damnedest to land a punch. "My sister is my world- and I'm not going to let you or anyone else sacrifice her! Original vampire or not."

Elijah's hands curled around my shoulders and he shoved me back and away from him. My sneakers skidded across the sidewalk, causing me to fall flat on my ass. When I looked up again, Elijah was two houses down from me and walking sedately further away.

"I will see you again soon, Sidney," he called over his shoulder. "In the meantime, look after Elena for me, will you?"

In the next second, he was gone.

I was left, alone and cold, sitting on the sidewalk, and I couldn't help but feel the pressure of a noose settling itself around my neck.

* * *

 **A/N: Whaddup dudes! I am so, so freaking sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Life got in the way, ya know? I'm hardcore working on a show right now, so time is not something I have a lot of. I'll try really, really hard to have the next chapter up by the end of February, but no promises. Side note:** _ **Jane Doe**_ **has been posted! For those who haven't read the shit-tons of author notes on** _ **The Damsel in Distress Diaries, Jane Doe**_ **is an** _ **Originals**_ **fanfiction that focuses on the relationship between douche-bag Klaus and anal retentive Jane. If you're interested, head over to my page and check it out!**

 _ **Next time:**_ _The Scooby Doo gang learn why everyone and their mother is trying to kidnap Elena, and a conversation with Rose prompts Sidney to finally make a decision about her relationship with Damon that will change the course of their lives forever._


	7. Ready

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 7: Ready**

We were right.

To break the Sun and Moon Curse, a sacrifice had to be made.

The doppelgänger.

 _Elena._

My sister was the safety pin that held together the entirety of the supernatural world. And unless we could do the impossible and stop the Big Bad of all Big Bads, Elena was going to die.

Klaus Mikaelson was coming, and when he came, the world was going to fall apart.

I had no clue what to say. It was before school on Monday morning, and Elena and I sat in horrified silence on the Salvatores' couch. Damon stood in the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed, trying to pretend like he didn't care. (I wasn't buying it. He cared a lot more about Elena than he liked to let on.) Stefan didn't bother to hide his fear. He openly paced back and forth in front of the fire place, shoulders and jaw so tense I thought they might snap.

On the loveseat across from us was Rose, whose face held all of the grimness her story had delivered.

Suddenly, Stefan lashed out. His fist sprung and snapped the mantle. Vases and framed pictures went sliding to the ground, shattering. Elena jumped in her seat, and Damon raised his eyebrows in surprise. Stefan gave a great, heaving breath, and ran his hands through his hair.

"This isn't the end," he insisted. "This _isn't_ the end. We already killed one of them- right? We can handle another. If we work together like we did last time, we can kill them."

I felt bile rising in the back of my throat and bit my lip. I had never seen Stefan as frantic as he was now- and it terrified me. This was not the teddy bear that I knew. "Stefan-"

" _Don't_!" he insisted. His shoulders threw themselves up and down like a piece of machinery. "Don't. We are _going_ to protect her. We already killed Elijah."

But that was the problem: _Elijah was still alive._

I hesitated to tell them. Everyone's tempers were high already; I didn't want us to boil over. But he had already come for me once, and I had a feeling I was going to be seeing him again soon.

"He's alive," I spat, gaze fastened firmly on the floor. "I don't know how and I don't know why- so don't ask me," I said to the words I knew were about to come flying out of Damon's mouth. "He sought me out last night and asked for my 'help'."

Even just repeating what he had requested of me made me sick to my stomach.

Damon straightened and gave a harsh laugh. "Great. So we're back to square one."

"There's no way to kill an Original vampire," Rose atoned, brows lifting apologetically. "I told you that. And trust me, we've looked."

"That's just it, Rose," Damon spat, hands going to his jeans pocket. "Why should we trust you? For all we know, you could be working for Elijah."

Stefan snorted, looming over Rose darkly. "Actually, you are working for Elijah."

" _Was,_ " Rose corrected. " _Was_ working for Elijah."

"Leave her alone," Elena whispered, hands tugging at dark locks. "She's on our side."

Oh God, how was Elena taking this? She had just been told that the most powerful beings in the supernatural world (maybe even just The World) were going to come after her and try to kill all of us. And Elena was just _seventeen years old._

 _How was I supposed to get her through this?_

"What are you thinking?" I whispered as the vampires bickered amongst themselves.

There was a long pause. Elena stewed, off in her own world, and I could practically see the dark clouds converging over her head. Finally, she exhaled in a long puff of air and straightened, reaching for her bookbag. "I'm thinking we need to get to school."

* * *

Elena lied. We didn't go to school. Instead, she made a quick call to the only clueless vampire we knew (Caroline), and told me to drive out to the tomb. Why she wanted to talk to Katherine Pierce of all people, I had no clue, but the girl had just been told she was Number One on the Original Vampire's shit list, so I figured she deserved some slack for once.

We made the drive in shell-shocked silence, and sat, waiting, in the car once we had arrived.

I guess you could say we were panicking a bit? I mean, it's not every day you find out something like that. (And I couldn't stop thinking about the sheer strength I had seen from Elijah, or the fact that he had literally _come back from the grave._ Or, worst of all, that he wanted my help. It had been hard enough to fight one Original Vampire. What kind of monster could possibly be stronger than Elijah?)

Elena, it seemed, shared the same sentiment I did. "How are we going to get through this, Sid?" she whispered in a small voice I sincerely prayed I would never have to hear from her again.

 _I don't know,_ I thought, desperation rising in my stomach like lava. _I have no clue._ "I wish I could tell you," I confessed. Klaus was a swinging gauntlet over my head. "All I know is that you are going to be safe."

 _No matter what I have to do, I will protect you._

"I'm not worried about _me_ ," Elena insisted in that stubborn way of hers. "I'm worried about _you-_ and Jeremy and Jenna and our friends. What if he comes after you guys to get to me?"

Panic flooded me instantly, and I leaned across the dashboard, grabbing Elena by the shoulders.

"Look at me," I said when she wouldn't meet my eyes. Again, I insisted, " _Look at me."_

Once I finally had her attention, I began: "Don't you _dare_ even _consider_ playing the martyr, Elena. Do you understand me? There is nothing we won't do to get you out of this, so do me a favor and honor what we're doing for you. I promise, no matter what, I am going to get you, and everyone else we love, through this. No one is going to die on my watch."

Elena held my gaze for what felt like hours, tears brimming, before finally acquiescing and burying her head in its usual place beneath my chin. My arms cradled her, and not for the first time, I shook with the responsibility Mom and Dad had left me with when they died. It was my job to protect my family, and dammit all to hell if I wasn't going to do it.

Even if I had to sell my soul to the devil, I was going to get us through this.

We probably would have sat there all day, just hugging each other in the middle of the woods. Caroline Forbes was a force unto herself though, and tapped on the windshield when she arrived, silky blonde eyebrow raised.

"You two alright?" she asked skeptically through the open window.

I nodded. "Yeah, just…" I paused, halfway out of the car. "We'll tell you about it later."

Caroline was unconvinced, but acquiesced, probably assuming she would find out soon enough. This was a good assumption. Nothing stayed secret in this town for long.

"Why are we talking to the psycho bitch again?" she inquired.

I shrugged and held my hands up in a _surrender_ pose. "That's more of an Elena question than a Sidney question," I deferred, because I didn't know any more than Caroline did.

Elena was back to her usual, composed self, and had taken the liberty of digging through Caroline's school bag. She emerged with a water bottle and turned to Caroline, asking, "Is this your blood bottle?"

"Yes," Caroline replied stiffly. I figured she still wasn't completely cool with the whole vampire thing.

"Can I borrow it?"

"You're giving it to Katherine, aren't you?"

Elena just nodded and tucked the bottle into her backpack. "I want to ask her some questions," she explained evasively. "See if Rose's story checks out."

Katherine was even less likely to give us the truth than Rose was, but I wasn't about to tell that to Elena.

Caroline, obviously confused, shrugged and said, "Okay, one, who is Rose? And two, why did I skip school to come here?"

"Rose is a vampire who knows about the Originals," I explained, and then immediately realized that Caroline probably didn't even know who the Originals _were._

But before I could explain that mind-fuck, Elena chimed in, "We just need you to open the door to the tomb and not tell the Salvatores that we aren't at school today."

Caroline didn't look happy about it (keeping secrets was a good way to make Damon mad at you), but she agreed anyway, and we started the short hike to the tomb. At least today wasn't a heeled-ankle-boots day, even if I was in a skirt. My fashion choices were growing more and more fortuitous with every evil vampire I encountered.

The tomb came all too soon for my liking; then Caroline was shoving aside the stone door for us and we were exchanging half-hearted barbs with the psychopath locked inside, and then at last, it was just me, Elena, and Katherine.

"So, what did I do to deserve a visit from the Gilmore girls?" Katherine quipped.

I was surprised she could even speak- she resembled the mummy from the first part of the Brendan Frasier movies: when it was all shriveled up and dry and boney. And I probably would have shot back something profane and witty if Katherine's reference weren't such a good one. Elena and I really _were_ like the Gilmore girls. (I was Lorelai, she was Rory, duh.) My lack of sassy response bugged me, and I scowled as I slid down to a seat on the ground.

"Get on with it, 'Lena," I grumbled, drawing pictures on the floor. "I've already missed too many days of school thanks to _someone_ stabbing me into a coma."

Katherine grinned. A piece of her lip cracked. "You don't have to thank me, darling."

"Wasn't planning on it, douche whore."

"Can you two, like, stop it, for once?" Elena requested. "Thanks."

"You really don't get the whole nemesis thing, do you?" Katherine muttered, rolling her eyes in a way that was obscenely grotesque thanks to the current condition of her face.

"You being my nemesis implies that I actually give a shit about you, ergo not a nemesis," I pointed out, wishing I had a shot of strong whiskey. That sounded nice, almost. "Bitch," I tacked on, with much consideration.

"Stop. Stop it. Stop doing the sassy-thing." Elena shot me one of her Mom-glares and tugged out Caroline's blood bottle. She crouched down and carefully rolled it in Katherine's direction. "I bring a peace offering," Elena granted. "What do you know about the Original vampires?"

Katherine's fingers inched toward the bottle like worms. She brought it, painstakingly, toward her mouth and bit through the plastic to get at the blood, not even bothering with the top. As life came back to Katherine's face, I reflected that Elena and I were going to have to buy Caroline a new water bottle.

Once Katherine had had her fill, she tossed the bottle back at us and started to pat the leftover blood from her face with the hem of her ripped party dress. Daintily, she began: "I am _intimately_ acquainted with the Original vampires, darling- And you will be, too. Doppelgänger and all."

"You knew about the sacrifice," I guessed quietly. I probably would have gotten mad at her for not telling us, but this was Katherine. I was always mad at her.

She flashed me a blood-stained smile. "Love, I almost _was_ the sacrifice."

* * *

Learning the truth about Katherine Pierce made it slightly more difficult to hate her.

Elena wondered if the similarities between them (both physical and situational) led her to have more sympathy for the vampire than she would have, otherwise. After all, a tragic backstory did not excuse all the havoc Katherine had wreaked on Elena and her loved ones. And it certainly did not excuse the hundreds (maybe thousands) of lives Katherine had left destroyed in her wake.

Sidney, for the most part, seemed unaffected by Katherine's story. The compassion Elena usually found in her sister's eyes was missing, and the cold, unforgiving chill of them was unsettling. Elena was unused to seeing anything but sheer love and determination in Sidney's face. She wondered if this was what vampires saw in the seconds before Sidney killed them.

It was difficult for Elena to match the two vastly different personalities that dwelled in her sister's body. One, the fast-talking, big-hearted jokester who Elena knew and loved. The other, a heartless killer who would stop at nothing to defend those she cared about.

Elena rarely saw the Slayer side of Sidney, and she wasn't sure she liked seeing it now.

"So you escaped death with death," Sidney summarized. "Very Hemmingway of you. However, completely useless for us. I'm not killing my sister so Klaus can't kill her first."

"I could do it for you," Katherine offered, with less venom than Elena was used to getting from her.

And in truth, the situation seemed a hopeless one.

Elena trusted Sidney and the Salvatores implicitly, but Klaus Mikaelson was an entity unto himself. And if what Katherine and Rose had told them was true, he was practically unstoppable. The idea of that much evil focused solely on her and her loved ones terrified Elena. But she had no clue how to _fix this._

And no matter how hard Sidney tried to hide it, Elena knew her sister had no more idea than she did.

An oppressive silence fell over the girls in the tomb. Elena was relieved when Sidney's phone gave a series of chirps, interrupting it. Katherine, however, groaned and rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time.

"Damon," Sidney explained, rising to her feet. "If it weren't important, he wouldn't be calling when he thinks I'm in school. Will you be alright with her, Elena?"

"I won't bite," Katherine said in a voice neither of the Gilberts trusted.

Elena nodded though, because calls from Damon were usually not calls that should be ignored, and Sidney stepped out into the daylight.

Katherine waited for all of thirty seconds.

"There's something else you should know," she confided. Her voice had taken on a deeper tone to it: One that was, for the first time in Elena's experience, all seriousness. There was no mocking to be found in what Katherine was about to tell her, then. "About the situation you're in."

"What?" Elena asked impatiently. "And why did you have to wait for Sidney to leave to tell me this?"

"Because what I'm about to say directly concerns Sidney and the rest of your family."

That managed to catch Elena's attention.

"What is it?"

And for the first time, an expression of honest to God _pain_ conquered Katherine's face.

"I had an older sister, too, once," she conceded.

Elena nodded, unsure of where this was going.

Katherine exhaled loftily. "Her name was Elizaveta, and we were about as close as you and Sidney are. And when Klaus discovered what I had done, he _decimated her._ Her and the rest of my family. By the time I got back to Bulgaria, they were ash. And he will do the exact same thing to you to get what he wants."

Ice had crept up to Elena's chest and frozen her heart. She could feel it struggling to beat with every painful breath she took.

"So what do I do?" she whispered. "How do I stop this?"

"You can't," Katherine replied, an apology on her face. "I'm sorry, but there's no way to stop Klaus."

And, suddenly, Elena knew with immediate certainty how this would end.

Katherine seemed to know, too.

The doppelganger and the vampire exchanged a significant glance, one of shared pain and duty, and Elena, in that moment, intrinsically understood Katerina Petrova and all that she had been through. She also understood that she was far more like the monster in front of her than she wanted to admit.

When Sidney stepped back into the tomb, only a scant minute had passed, but for Elena, a lifetime's worth of change had just occurred.

"Damon and Rose have a lead on Klaus," Sidney explained, biting her lip. "They're leaving for Richmond ASAP and want me to come with. Will you be okay by yourself?"

"More than," Elena replied.

And somehow, she knew she was telling the truth.

* * *

Rose, apparently, had never actually come into direct contact with Elijah before he had come to collect Elena. She had communicated with him via another vampire named Slater, who operated out of Virginia. This gave us reason to believe that Slater would also know how to get in touch with Klaus. And if we could get in touch with him, maybe we could kill him before he even found out that Elena existed. (If he didn't already know about her.)

This was a big lead, obviously, so we left for Richmond the minute I arrived at the Boarding House.

Vampire-road-tripping with Damon proceeded as normal, only with far less time, kidnapping, and nerves involved than usual. Having Rose along for the ride spiced things up nicely. Although, I couldn't help but feel bad for her. The sexual tension between me and Damon had been so thick lately, I probably could have cut through it with the stake hidden under my jacket.

I wasn't sure what was going on between us. All I knew was that what I wanted, more than anything, was to just _be with him._ And the more I thought about what that would be like- having that kind of relationship with Damon- the less I thought about all the reasons I had come up with to say no.

Rose was a perceptive person, and I could feel her eyes on me from the backseat anytime Damon and I exchanged glances, jokes, or witticisms. She was grinning at me when we parked at the coffee shop we were supposed to meet Slater at. Self-consciously, I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets, barely fazed by the smell of coffee heady in the air. A miracle in and of itself.

"Dry cappuccino, extra shot?" Damon confirmed.

I shook my head, eyes scanning the shop for any sign of the vampiric. "This is Klaus-related. It's a level six kind of day," I told him.

Damon whistled through his teeth. "Damn, Siddie," he commented, brows raised in concern. "You're stressed."

 _Ya think?_

Rose and I found a series of arm chairs in a cluster near the far corner. The two window walls created a cozy, private alcove, perfect for secret dalliances with blood-sucking monsters. Rose plopped down in the seat that would leave her back exposed to the door and began unwinding her flower-patterned headscarf.

"What's a level six?" she inquired.

"Venti dead eye with three extra shots and another espresso shot over ice. No milk."

"No milk?"

"Milk is for the weak- unless it's in a latte. Or a cappuccino. Or an Irish coffee. Or a flat white. Or a café au lait."

Rose laughed at me, reminding me of Jenna for a striking moment. (Maybe it was the red hair?) "You and Damon are close, then?" she analyzed, stripping off her leather gloves.

"Almost obscenely so," I simplified. My eyes were fixed on her bare skin. "How are you not, like, bursting into flames right now?"

"Vampires own the coffee shop. The windows keep out UV rays," Rose explained.

I noticed, suddenly, that her seat was chosen, not out of tactical advantage, but because it was the one in the most direct patch of filtered sunlight. She practically basked in it, almost glowing in delight. I felt sorry for her, suddenly- and all the other vampires I knew and liked. Not being able to go into the sun must suck, especially if you hadn't been able to do so for hundreds of years.

Almost without thinking, I offered, "You know, my best friend is an alchemist. When me and Damon's friend, Caroline, was turned, Anastasia made a daylight ring for her. I'm sure she would make one for you if I asked."

Rose was _hugging_ me after that. I endured it with a grin, used to the women in my life doing so out of the blue nowadays. My mom-friend-syndrome was at its apex, and it seemed Rose was susceptible to it, too.

She smiled glibly and pushed her short hair out of her eyes. "Thank you," she said, the sincerest I had ever heard her. She motioned in Damon's direction. "What's up with the two of you, anyway?"

 _Isn't that the million-dollar question?_

"It's… complicated," I dodged.

Everyone and their mother seemed to know about me and Damon. I figured it would be nice if my new maybe-friend wasn't as in the know as the rest of the world.

Damon appeared with coffee (I could have kissed him for it) seconds later, so obviously, we couldn't keep talking about him behind his back. But that was okay, because Slater arrived, and the only thing on my mind was my sister and the danger she was in.

Slater turned out to be a dead end, though. He had only ever communicated with Elijah, never Klaus, and was honestly kind of completely useless. My opinion of Slater was not a good one: This cowardly jackass had been willing to kidnap and help kill my sister, just to get brownie points with Elijah. He was fidgety and evasive throughout the entire conversation, and I would have thrown my coffee at him if I didn't need it so much.

Turns out, I didn't have to hurt Slater. Someone else took care of that for me.

There was a shift in the mood of the three vampires surrounding me. I felt Damon's arm tense around my shoulders, and there was a loud _crack._ Hairline fractures sprouted on the window wall directly beside me, and Damon was tackling me to the ground, guarding me from the glass shattering all around us.

"The fuck?" I groaned into the floor beneath my face.

People in the café were screaming, and the barista stood on the counter to tell the patrons to calm down, and try to restore some semblance of order. Damon clambered off me and I pushed myself back onto my knees. When I glanced up, he was throwing his jacket over Rose's boiling skin and tugging her out the door, calling, "Grab Slater!" at me over his shoulder.

But it was too late for Slater. There was nothing left of him but ash and charred scraps of fabric.

When I looked up and out the window, though, I saw Elijah. And I sprung up and after him.

He bolted when he saw me coming. I made to follow after, panting in exertion, but he disappeared into the busy crosswalk, and I lost him. Him, and any chance at getting an explanation from him.

* * *

"I really need to stop doing this for you."

"Thank you, Damon."

"I'm sexually attracted to you, but I'm doing something your mom would do."

" _Thank you, Damon._ "

"Seriously, I'm a vampire- this isn't a good idea."

"Damon-!"

He just snickered at me and taped the last of the gauze into place on my kneecaps. I kind of wanted to punch him when he went off on teasing tangents like that, but I also kind of wanted to kiss him. (I always wanted to kiss him.)

We had made it back to the Boarding House, although not in once piece. Rose was downstairs, drinking blood bags in an effort to heal her burns, and Slater was dead. We didn't think anyone had seen him go up in flames, but we had no way to be sure, and that made me nervous. Also, there was the fact that Elijah had escaped _again,_ along with any chance at getting answers out of him. The future remained just as bleak as it had been four hours ago, and Damon and I were extremely dissatisfied.

He glanced at me meaningfully and leaned his arms on either side of my bare legs. "Hey, we're gonna be okay."

I sniffed and swung my legs, kicking at his chest half-heartedly. "You know, that's what I told Elena this morning," I confessed.

"And did she believe you?" Damon asked, eyebrows raised.

"More or less," I replied with a shrug. "Elena's stubborn, but I made her swear not to martyr herself, so there's that."

"She's still going to try."

"I know."

Silence for a minute. Damon's hand moved from the countertop to my leg, and he stroked the skin there with his thumb. I think he was trying to comfort me, but the effect was more arousing than anything else.

"I promise you, Elena, Jeremy, and Jenna are going to survive this," Damon told me then. "And I promise I'll try to get the other kids through this, too."

"What about you and Stefan?" I challenged.

"We aren't important."

"Bull fucking shit, you aren't!" I spat immediately, suddenly seized with the urge to slap him. "You guys _are_ important, Damon! You are so important to me-"

And suddenly, I couldn't get it out anymore. This man had become so, overwhelmingly vital to me and my life. Damon was like oxygen and sunshine- imperative. I couldn't survive without him. Once again, I felt tired to my core of avoiding him and the relationship both of us wanted. My reasons for not being with him felt stupid, but something was still holding me back.

I felt something heavy and sickening sink into my stomach. "I should go," I excused, pushing my way off of the counter and out of his bathroom. "I have to pick up the kids from school."

Damon just nodded me, and he didn't follow me out of his bedroom. I had a feeling he was leaving just as much unsaid as I was.

Rose was sitting cross-legged on the couch when I got down. She was surrounded by empty blood bags, and she smiled at me with blood-stained teeth.

"Are you shipping off?" she asked, reaching for a nearby water bottle and rinsing her mouth with it.

"Yeah," I answered. My jacket was thrown over the back of Damon's armchair, and I shrugged it on.

"Let me stop you for a mo, then."

I frowned. "Any reason?"

Rose grinned cheekily and replied, "Girl talk."

"Shoot," I told her, flopping into Damon's chair. Girl talk was not something I excelled at, and most of the females in my acquaintance knew not to engage in it with me.

"So you and Damon?"

 _What was this girl's obsession with our relationship?_

But fuck it! No one knew what the hell was going on with us. Even I didn't fucking know! And I just- I just wanted to be with him so fucking bad that it was a physical ache in my chest.

Before I knew what was happening, I was spilling my soul to Rose. How Damon and I met and his initial motivation to use me as a pawn against Elena and Stefan. The amazing discovery that the two of us had in that we could tell each other virtually anything, and not be judged or hated for it. We understood each other in a way no one else ever had. I told her about how betrayed I had felt after learning what Damon had done to Caroline, then the absolute fear I had for him when I learned he was a vampire. Rose heard about Damon kidnapping me and then saving me, and the moment when I saw him for the monster, and the scared, hurting man who he really was.

I even talked about the insane, evil things I had done and gone through for him: Gunning down Logan Fell, running after him in the tomb, letting him pour his pain into me once he had found out the truth about Katherine. And worse: The torture from the tomb vampires, disowning my Uncle John, selling out the entire town for the safety of my family, and rescuing him from a burning building.

Then I was telling Rose things I had never told anyone else about my feelings for Damon. Why I couldn't be with him. Fear and bad-timing. And once I had said them out loud, they sounded weak even to myself.

Rose seemed to think so, too.

"So, basically, the only reason you two aren't together is because you're scared of being selfish?" she summarized, brow raised.

I hesitated, and then nodded, and then shook my head again. "Well, no," I decided, hugging my legs to my chest. "Not just that, anyway. There's a ton of other shit-"

"'Shit' that doesn't make any sense," Rose interrupted apologetically. "You said you're worried about an imbalance of power, but darling, that man worships the ground you walk on. You've got him completely wrapped around your finger. And all that nonsense about the horrible things you're willing to do for him? You'd do the same for Elena, wouldn't you?"

"I mean, I guess."

"And bad timing, right?" Rose repeated. "And that's all? Those are the only reasons you two aren't together?"

"Well…" _Fuck, she's right._ "Yes." I hastened to tack on; "But they're good reasons all the same- or, at least the last one is. My sister is being hunted like an animal by the biggest monster in the world- or, at least that's what everyone keeps telling us. So, I really don't think getting into some kind of epic, teenage romance novel relationship with my vampire best friend is the right idea right now."

"Why?" Rose asked pointedly. "Why isn't it a good idea? You're both miserable!"

" _It's selfish!_ "

"No, what's selfish is you torturing him, and everyone else, because you're scared to think about yourself for once."

I blinked at her. I wasn't sure if I should be offended or not, so instead, I settled on; "I think about myself occasionally."

Rose's raised eyebrow was all the reply I needed.

In less than five minutes, she'd managed to fucking annihilate every single one of my excuses for not being with Damon. It didn't help that I'd already begun to question them, too. And for the first time, I felt a certain clarity about the man who consumed most of my non-monster-centric thoughts.

 _Why wasn't I with him?_

"Thanks, Rose," I said quietly, getting to my feet. "I appreciate this, really, I do."

Rose grinned at me. "Do you though?" she asked. "Because I think a very good thing you can take away from this is to remember to give the same fearless love to yourself that you give to everyone else."

Fucking hell. It was like my mom had come back from the grave to give me relationship advice, and if I had been the pre-vampire-Sidney, I probably would have started crying. As it was, though, I just nodded, smiled, and went home.

* * *

Saturday morning dawned bright, and unusually warm for March in Virginia. The clear sky matched my clear mind, and when I called Damon and asked him to go on a hike with me, I somehow knew exactly what was going to happen.

All of the time we had spent dancing around each other was coming to an end. The melody of our relationship had reached its crescendo, and it was time for me to make a decision. I wasn't sure if I was going to live to see the next day, let alone the next year. And I wasn't sure if Damon and I were going to make it through Klaus alive.

But I knew that I was in love with him. And somehow, that was enough.

He laughed at me when I picked him up that morning. "You're the only girl I know who would wear hiking boots with a silk dress," he teased, slipping into my passenger seat. "Not to mention the fact that you're wearing a dress at all. We're _hiking,_ Siddie."

I shrugged, and began the drive to the head of the trail that would take us to the Falls. "What can I say, dude? You're wearing motorcycle boots. We're both practical-fashion-challenged. It's why we work so well together."

Our conversation continued like that for the entirety of the drive, and the majority of the hike. The normalcy succeeded in calming my nerves, at least a little bit. I was struck, again, with just how thankful I was to have Damon in my life. Here was someone who understood me almost better than I understood myself. And by some miracle, I understood him, too.

He stopped short when we reached a section of sandy beach that surrounded the lake. To our right was a dilapidated cabin that looked like it had been built around the same time Damon had been born. Far across the lake, I could see the waterfall that had created it, and the sun threw reflections against the water and into my eyes.

Damon clenched his jaw. "You know," he stated, "this is where me and Stefan woke up? When we turned?"

I glanced around with new eyes, shocked. This was the birthplace of Damon's afterlife. I had a feeling it was his first time coming back here since that day.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. My palm found its way into his and squeezed.

He stared at our linked hands, surprised. Hand-holding wasn't really a thing we did, but he smiled hesitantly after a minute and shook his head. "Shockingly, yes. I don't mind being here with you. It reminds me that all of this has been worth it."

You could have knocked me over with a feather at that.

"Really?" I inquired. "The vampire thing? That's sure as shit something I never thought I'd hear you say."

Damon flashed me a wry grin. "I mean, if I hadn't died, I wouldn't have been able to show you my amazing sexual prowess, now would I?"

"Shut up!" I scoffed, ripping my hand from his to smack his shoulder, because sometimes, Damon really, really deserved to be smacked.

Silence. Deep breath.

"But, seriously," I recalled. "I am glad. Not about all of the horrible shit you've been through- I'm not a psychopath- but I _am_ glad that I met you. Because no matter what kind of horrible, awful things that have happened since then, I've found some pretty amazing things, too. And I think I owe most of that to you."

Damon raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay. Where you going with this?"

"I think you know." Another deep breath. "You were right. I love you."

More quiet. Nothing but the crashing of the Falls in the distance- not even a bird chirping or bee buzzing. Damon didn't need to breathe anymore, and both my breath and heart had stopped at the admission.

So I said it again.

"Damon, I _love you._ And all of those excuses I came up with don't matter anymore. Because in all this insanity lately, you being there for me is the only thing hasn't changed. And neither have my feelings for you. You're _everything._ And- I'm not good with words. You know that, because, fuck! You know everything about me! And I can't keep pretending that not being with you doesn't kill me, every second of every day."

Something like hope was blooming in Damon's face, and he was smiling- _beaming at me!_ An almost-euphoric laugh bubbled out of him, and he was swinging me into his arms and clutching at me like he was worried I was going to fall apart.

"Are you agreeing, then?" he urged into the skin of my neck. "Can we be together?"

I chuckled and nodded, pressing kiss after kiss to the top of his head. "Yes! Oh, my God- _please_! It's about damn time!"

Damon barked out a whoop and cried out, "You can fucking say that again!"

We kissed then, with all the joy and ecstasy we had never kissed with before.

And maybe nothing had really been solved. We still had no clue what the future would hold. But both of us knew that no matter what was coming, we would face it.

Together.

* * *

 **A/N: Well fuck, guys! It finally happened! I hope this long, much-waited for chapter makes up for the lateness. Things have been crazy, but I promise to have the next installment up by May first! Thank you so much for reading, and please leave a review if you feel like it!**


	8. Deal with the Devil

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 8: Deal with the Devil**

Our first night, truly together, was a whisper of moonlight and skin caressing skin; soft kisses against scars and bruises, and constellations traced into the freckles across my back. My bedroom had never felt safer than with Damon in it. My fingers laced through his dark hair, and his mouth pressed against my throat, against my pulse. For a moment, I felt sheltered.

But then I woke up with an odd pain in my stomach.

At first, I chalked it up to cramps. I couldn't reproduce anymore, which meant I didn't get a period, but some part of my body seemed to forget that, because I still experienced God awful muscle spasms in my pelvis at least once a month. It wasn't what used to be Shark Week, though, so that wasn't it.

My spidey-senses were still tingling, though. The curtains were open, floating in a light breeze, and moonshine and street lamp light fell through the panes. I went to close them, shivering in my underthings, and that was when I saw him.

It was Elijah. There was no mistaking the dark suit and the formal stance, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw him. It was too dark for me to clearly see his face, but I knew he could see mine, and I snapped the curtains shut as soon as I could, heart convulsing behind skin and bone.

And Elijah was still watching me.

* * *

Being Elena's big sister was kind of like adopting an extremely worried ex-guard dog that you couldn't get rid of once she was yours.

From the moment I stepped downstairs that morning (Damon having left through the window after a very passionate wake-up kiss), she knew something was up. I will admit I was jumpier than usual. One of the Original Vampires was stalking me with the intent of getting me to help him and his psychopathic brother murder my sister. The prominent hickey left on my neck was enough excuse for Jenna, who immediately realized that Damon and I were finally together, and Jeremy commented an "ew" as he rushed out the door, but Elena still wasn't satisfied.

She knew, more than anything, that Damon at his best didn't make me jumpy. He soothed me. He made me feel safe in a way I hadn't since before our dad died. Elena wasn't going to be deterred.

The entire school seemed to know about Damon and I the minute I walked through the doors. The combination of "congratulations!" and "you two are both so fucked up you actually might work out" ("Fuck off, Tyler!") made me irate enough. Elena popping up like an extremely annoying groundhog after every class and asking me what was wrong didn't help matters. My bottom lip was so worried by the end of the day that it stung as I applied chap stick to it before dress rehearsal.

"You're going to have to tell me what's wrong, eventually."

I groaned into my locker, not even bothering to turn in Elena's direction, and growled back, "Wanna bet?"

I could practically feel Elena's frown. "I'm not dropping this."

"We really are the Gilmore girls," I grumbled, reaching for the phone buzzing in my back pocket.

 **Message Sent: 3/5/13- 3:12pm**

 **To: Siddie  
** Stefan just threatened to castrate me if i hurt you. Did people see the hickey?  
 **Message Received: 3/5/13- 3:12pm**

With a scowl at my phone screen, I shut my locker and began the trek to the school auditorium, Elena trailing along after me. "Elena," I sighed, thumbing a response to my I-guess-boyfriend, "I promise there is nothing wrong."

 _Lies. All lies. Everything is wrong._

 **Message Sent: 3/5/13- 3:13pm**

 **To: Dickface Evil Vampire  
** Yeah and fuck you for putting it there  
 **Message Received: 3/5/13: 3:13pm**

Elena actually snorted, speeding up to walk backwards in front of me, forcing the eye contact I didn't want right then. "That is complete crap and you know it," she scoffed. "You should be happy right now! Why aren't you?"

Another buzz. I ignored it in favor of sassing my sister: "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because someone is trying to remake _The Passion of the Christ_ only with you instead of Mel Gibson."

"Mel Gibson was the director not the star."

"Oh, shut up."

 **Message Sent: 3/5/13: 3:13pm**

 **To: Siddie  
** You love me you love me you love me  
 **Message Received: 3/5/13: 3:15pm**

 **Message Sent: 3/5/13: 3:15 pm**

 **To: Dickface Evil Vampire  
** Yes now stop rubbing it in  
 **Message Received: 3/5/13: 3:16pm**

Elena managed to follow me all the way through the auditorium, across the stage and into the dressing room, where she perched on one of the counters and pestered me as I toed out of my ankle boots and shimmied out of my skinny jeans.

"Weren't you the one who promised everything was going to be okay?"

"Drop it, Elena," I warned, trying to ignore the way Keeley and Caroline, the only other people in the room, were staring at us.

"Why?" she persisted. "Were you lying?"

I glared at her, and Elena, surprised, actually shrunk back. "I don't feel like having this conversation in my underwear, thanks."

"Where do you feel comfortable having this conversation?" she shot back. "Take me there. I'm not done."

I let out an exasperated, bark of a laugh, and yanked my sweater up over my head. "You're never done!" I cited. "Not with this conversation, not with anything-"

"No. You and mom taught me that," Elena indicted, grabbing the sweater I had tossed at her and crumpling it into a little ball. "Were you telling the truth when you promised everything was going to be okay?"

I glowered at her. "I'm not answering that question."

"Too bad. Were you telling the truth?"

"Yes!" I bayed. _No. I don't know._ "Yes, I was telling the truth when I told you we were going to do everything we could to keep you safe. It's actually following through on it that has me so stressed out. Happy?"

Elena stared at me for a minute. "No," she finally replied. "No, I'm not happy." And with that, she relented and scurried out of the dressing room.

I stood there, panting, for a moment, before letting out a groan, shaking my head, and pulling off my tank top. Caroline and Keeley were staring at me. A few more girls from the cast filtered in, and the space was soon filled with happy chatter as my two friends sidled up to me and the costumes hanging from the racks to my right.

"So," Keeley breached, "was that about what I think it was about?"

I sent her a dirty look. "Both of you should be very glad you are only children," I preached, stepping into my costume. "Sisters are the worst."

"But-" Keeley began stubbornly. I didn't miss the withering stare Caroline threw at her.

"So, cast party's at The Grille on opening night, with an after party at Corbin's house. Yes, you can bring Damon," Caroline chattered, a lot of _isn't it nice to be normal?_ in her voice.

And so, I made a game of being normal.

I pretended that I was laughing at dumb jokes instead of glancing around warily for Elijah. I pretended I was dressing for comfort instead of dressing for possible vampire attacks. I pretended like I was sleeping through nights when in reality I was lying wide awake, staring up at my ceiling. I pretended like I didn't notice the worried, raised-eyebrow looks Damon was sending me, and I pretended to be unbothered by Elena's chilly attitude toward me.

In a matter of three days, dress rehearsals turned into actual performances, and Damon and I were sitting at a table in the Grille, the rest of the "actors" practically screaming at each other all around us.

"I might actually be the worst actress on the face of the planet," I groaned into the tabletop.

I could hear the smile in Damon's voice. "Yeah, you kind of are," he admitted. "But you have been pretty damn distracted lately, so you could probably use that as an excuse if anyone starts bitching at you for it."

"Caroline won't." I chuckled dryly. "She was amazing- I really doubt she cares much about anyone else."

Damon hummed lowly, and I felt his fingers dance across the top of my head. I practically purred when I felt them twist through my hair and brush across my scalp. My eyes fluttered and I felt the tiredness beneath them all the more potently. I was so, so exhausted, and I could have fallen asleep right there, if it wasn't for-

"Sidney!"

My head shot up so fast I almost nailed Caroline in the chin. She just glared, while Damon sniggered. I shot him a dirty look and ran my hands through my hair.

"What's up, Care?" I asked, clenching my jaw to stop the yawn.

"Have you seen Keeley?" she demanded, drumming her fingers impatiently on her skirt-clad thigh. "I can't find her anywhere and her alcohol tolerance is really low and- just, have you seen her?"

Damon snorted and gestured in the general direction of the bar. "Dracula is chatting her up over there." At Caroline's raised eyebrows, he tacked on, "What? Am I too evil to take directions from now, Blondie?"

Caroline scoffed. "Go die in a hole," she called over her shoulder as she turned away.

"Already did! It was severely overrated!" Damon yelled over the din as she disappeared into the crowd. He waggled his eyebrows at me. "She's warming up to me, I can feel it."

"Like a summer day in Siberia," I drawled, rubbing at my bleary eyes.

Another snort. He was staring at the scene at the bar, only to wince, all dramatics. "Keeley and Dracula are making out," he narrated. "Caroline and your soccer friend who dresses slutty don't look happy."

"Sutter?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Huh. I thought Corbin wasn't Keeley's type."

"I don't know. They're your friends."

"True."

"Can we leave?"

"Oh, my God, yes, _please_."

Damon lobbed my purse at me over the table and dragged me out of my seat faster than I could blink. I let out an almost-hysterical giggle as he tugged me through the mass of teenagers to the door. This wasn't his scene, I knew, and I was ridiculously pleased he had suffered through it this long for me. But then again… I was realizing, more and more, that this wasn't really my scene anymore, either.

I stopped short before he could herd me completely out the door, and at his confused look, explained apologetically, "I need to make sure Elena gets home safe. She is, in fact, being stalked."

"Yes, Siddie, we know," Damon groused impatiently. "You do not know, however, that she left with The Wicked Witch of the West twenty minutes ago. I would assume she's reasonably safe."

I was doubtful, but allowed myself to be lugged onto the street. You couldn't blame me for being dubious. Bonnie Bennet hadn't proven herself to be the best of my sister's protectors: She had been present for at least two kidnappings, and actually been kidnapped _herself_ one of those times. It was only her grandma's probable presence that stopped me from running after them. Granny Bennett could kick some serious ass when she wanted to.

A hand at the small of my back lightly pushed me onto Main Street. Damon's icy fingers curled through mine, and he swung our linked hands with a childish grin as he steered us down the sidewalk.

"Your car is that way, genius," I pointed out dryly, gesturing back toward the Grille's parking lot.

Damon smiled cheekily. "I know. But it's a nice night for a walk."

"More like a nice night to get attacked by sadistic vampires," I groused, because _no shit,_ there was an actual sadistic vampire stalking my _absentee sister._

"The only sadistic vampire around you right now is more interested in ripping your panties off than sucking your blood," Damon sing-songed as we passed the fountain in the middle of town square.

I mumbled back a "hmm", more preoccupied with worrying about everything in general than flirting back with him. I mean, sure, sex was a great stress reliever, but I didn't want to waste my afterglow thinking about Klaus and Elijah and Elena and sacrifices and moonstones and _Katherine, ew-_

Fingers curled around my shoulders and Damon stopped me mid-step. "Where's your phone?" he demanded, systematically relieving me of my purse and jacket. "Not in your pocket?"

"No," I replied, trying to batt his hands away as he wrestled my arms out of their sleeves. "Damon, I am not sleeping with you on a sidewalk!"

He flashed me a Clark Kent-esque grin. "Aren't you?"

"No- _Fucking_ shit!"

He was really running with the Superman comparisons that night. I felt like Lois Lane as he hauled me up into a bridal carry-

Up until I was dumped into the fountain.

Water spluttered out of my mouth and I could almost feel the rage wafting off of me like steam. " _Damon_ -!"

"Nope. No talking."

A pair of lips were planted messily on my nose, before aiming again and making contact with my mouth. I giggled and melted. My hands came up and nestled in his hair. I felt Damon relax against me and then kicked his legs out from under him, wrestling us until I was on top.

"You _ruined_ my shirt!" I play-growled, trying to hide the smile curling across my face.

Damon scoffed at me. "I did not ruin it, it's just a little wet- and I really doubt that's the only thing wet right-"

" _Damon!_ "

"Too dirty?"

My only reply was to nip challengingly at his jaw. A snarl reverberated through his throat and I barked out a laugh, trying to ignore the eyes I could feel burrowing into me at every second of every day.

* * *

I was really going to have to find a new haunt if everyone kept looking for me at Sundays with Suzie. Honestly, how were Anastasia and I supposed to study if we kept getting interrupted? Midterms were unfortunately still a thing. And I did still want to graduate high school with my GPA at least somewhat intact.

When Damon and Stefan did their signature slide into the empty seats at our table, I almost threw my English book at them.

"No," I said to Stefan's raised, puppy-dog eyebrows.

Damon grinned wolfishly. "Put down _Macbeth,_ Siddie," he warned.

"I will as soon as you two stop with whatever dumb ass plot you've schemed up," I shot back, hand still curled around the heavy tome.

Stefan gave a mother-hen sigh and drawled out; "And what if said plot helped stop the Sun and Moon Curse?"

I put the book down. "Tell me."

And so they explained their plan to get the moonstone away from Katherine. They figured that once they had the lynchpin back, they could find a way to unravel the Sun and Moon Curse, probably relying on Anastasia's magic, who looked dubious but agreed to help. At her initial acquiescence, the Salvatores pushed even further.

"So do you think you'll be able to take the containment spell off of the tomb without Katherine noticing?" Stefan prompted.

Anastasia hesitated before nodding. "Yes," she replied, words almost being tugged from her throat. "But I need a grimoire from my dad's study-"

"Then let's go to your dad's study," Damon threw in impatiently.

For a split second, panic flashed across Anastasia's face. I felt myself tense as a reflex before it disappeared, but the uneasiness lingered. I immediately got mad at myself for suspecting my best friend of something foul: Anastasia loved Elena almost as much as I did. She would never do anything to hurt her!

Right?

There was this curdling sickness in my stomach that distracted me from Anastasia's next words: "Could we do it first thing tomorrow morning? My dad is supposed to be getting home tonight and I haven't seen him in a while… I'd kind of like to be there."

I raised an eyebrow, reaching clumsily for my latte to hide my shaking hands. Damon's eyes flashed up to mine. "Ok," I replied evenly. "First thing tomorrow morning."

Anastasia nodded, collected her books, and said her goodbyes. Her attitude was blasé, but still, my shoulders were thrown back and my stake was heavy in my boots.

"You look like you're about to barf," Damon stated once the door had chimed shut.

"I feel like I'm about to barf," I confirmed.

Stefan was still staring after Anastasia, but he asked; "Why?"

"Because," I answered, not quite sure how to tell them without seeming like the overly-paranoid whackjob I was, "I know 'Stasia, and… Well, just because."

More churning in my belly. I drained the last of my drink and started haphazardly throwing books and papers into my bag. "It's whatever." I forced a chuckle that was far darker than I wanted it to be. "Klaus has got me paranoid, I guess."

 _So paranoid I was even starting to second-guess my best friend._

 _So paranoid I was dressing for school like I would for a vampire attack._

 _So paranoid my sister was getting mad at me for breathing down her neck all the time._

 _So paranoid I hadn't slept in what felt like months._

 _So paranoid I felt like Elijah was watching me every second of every day._

Damon shrugged, although Stefan looked unconvinced, and the three of us meandered out of the coffee shop.

"Are you coming back to the Boarding House tonight?" Damon asked, throwing his keys routinely up in the air and catching them just as reliably. He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "We could have a sleep over."

Stefan made a face. "Oh- oh my God," he grumbled.

My hand smacked Damon's arm so hard it hurt me but probably felt like nothing to him. " _Damon_ ," I hissed, face neon red. "Not in front of little brothers or sisters- _We talked about this_!"

Damon just laughed and snaked his arms around my waist. "Did we? Because as I recall we were both a little distracted at the time-"

"Ew!" I whined, leaning back from his pursed lips and trying best I could not to giggle.

"I agree with her," Stefan chimed in over Damon's shoulder.

There was a long buzz in my pocket, and I used the ringing phone as an excuse to disentangle myself from my grab-happy, vampire boyfriend. I frowned at seeing Rose's name flashing across the screen and swiped my finger across it to pick up. "Hello?"

"Sidney," a lowered, feminine voice flared through the speaker. "I don't have time so don't say anything and listen, good? Good. I'm with Elena. I'll send you the address after we're through. We're at Slater's flat and she is planning to give herself over to Niklaus. Come. And _hurry._ "

* * *

I somehow managed to beat both Stefan and Damon up to Slater's apartment: A feat, I knew, as they were pretty damn angry, too.

But neither of them (read: _no one_ ) was as enraged as I was.

My angry pounding on the apartment door was greeted with a grim-faced Elena, whose expression fell even further when she realized it was me who had come for her, not Klaus.

"Oh," she greeted softly. "I guess you found me."

"And thank fuck I did!" I shouldered my way past her, just as Stefan and Damon flashed into the doorway. They herded Elena in after me.

"Please don't yell-"

"I'm not yelling! Who's yelling? Thanks for letting my know what was going on, Rose," I directed to the vampire sitting on the couch, looking a bit sick to her stomach. I scowled at Elena, bit my lip, and grabbed for her arm. "Now let's get the hell out of here before your dumb ass plan gets you killed."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are."

"Sidney, I'm not-!"

" _Yes,_ you _fucking_ are!"

Elena jerked away from me like she had been struck. "You can yell at Damon," she grit out. "You can yell at Tyler. You can yell at our enemies. But you're my sister, not my owner. You _don't_ yell at me."

"I do when you try to give yourself up to someone who wants to kill you," I barked, the words dredging out of my throat like the bile churning in my stomach.

Stefan cleared his throat, hands raised placatingly. "I get it, Sidney," he murmured. "Really, I do. I'm just as angry as you-"

" _I really don't think you are-_ "

"-but now is not the time!" he finished, voice raised. "We need to get out of here _now._ If Klaus comes for her, himself, we'll be in big trouble."

A few of us (Read: really just me) were not thrilled with the whole tearing-Elena-a-new-one thing being delayed, but the general consensus was that Stefan was right: Yes, we really did need to get the fuck out of here. And so, we gathered what few things we had brought with us (Elena's school bag and Rose's jacket), and herded our younger siblings in the direction of the door-

Only for it to be kicked down by three men who were, undeniably, vampires. You could tell by the darkly good looks and the leather jackets. If Damon considered himself an individualist anymore, he was very, very wrong.

"Elena Gilbert?" the one with the reddish hair practically sneered, eyes assessing Elena and I in a way that made me want to gouge them out. "Klaus' taxi service, here for transport."

 _Plan. Think of a plan, dumbass!_ my brain yelled at me. _Attack! If that doesn't work: pretend to be Elena. Sacrifice. Get her out get her out get her out get her out- Stake in back pocket, aim for leader's brain through eye, kick body down, take the other one on the left: aim for throat, if that doesn't work use knife and stab stomach. Salvatores have your back, Rose will guard Elena-_

Vaguely, I heard Damon spout off something probably snarky at the three vampires, but I was preoccupied with the fourth figure appearing in the doorway. The man was a bit on the shorter side, with dark hair and a darker suit.

Elijah's eyebrows drew together, and he purred out; "I'm afraid I must agree with Mr. Salvatore. Elena Gilbert will not be going anywhere with you tonight, gentlemen."

What came next was almost entirely too difficult for my mind to process. This put-together monster grew fangs bigger and sharper than I had ever seen, and _tore_ into the ginger vampire's face. Chunks of meat went flying, and the other two barely had time to react before they, too, were piles of flesh and blood in the hallway.

"Apologies for the delay," Elijah told us, patting sinew off of his face with a handkerchief. When I went to draw my stake, he added, "Don't bother, Sidney. But do keep up the excellent guard work. Your help is much appreciated."

With that, he disappeared once again, leaving the five of us with three corpses and a whole shitload of issues.

"The fuck?" Damon said to the quiet apartment.

I agreed with him.

* * *

I didn't know if I had ever been this angry before- had certainly never been this angry at _Elena._

I just couldn't understand it… We were doing everything we possibly could to protect her from this monster; a monster that she willingly gave herself over to. She knew what the consequences would be, and I just… I never thought that I would need to protect Elena from herself.

"How could you?" I demanded the minute we made it through our front door and into the dark entry hall. "How- Elena, _why_? Why would you try to do that?"

Elena barked out a short, dark laugh that startled me with how out of place it was coming from her mouth. "Why do you think?" she demanded. "Tell me something, Sid. If you were in my place and you knew Klaus was going to do whatever it took to kill you, what would you do?" She barreled on before I could get in a word. "You would have done the exact same thing I just did, and don't you dare try to say otherwise."

"Yeah, I think I will dare. Because I sure as hell wouldn't have thrown everyone's hard work down the drain and made our jobs about a million times harder," I ridiculed.

"And how exactly did I-?"

"You don't get it!" My pitch and volume rose the point of screeching, and my fists shook where they hung at my sides. "You let him know you exist-!"

" _He already knows I exist-!_ "

"That doesn't mean it's okay for you to fucking contact him, Elena!" I practically screamed, and suddenly I was so exasperated and exhausted that I could feel it to my core.

Elena's face screwed up in a way that was extraordinarily ugly for someone like my little sister. "It's not your job to protect me, Sidney," she spat quietly. "Just because Mom and Dad are dead doesn't mean you get to replace them."

My stomach dropped. Heat pricked at the corners of my eyes. I whispered; "The fuck it isn't. That isn't fair, Elena, you know it isn't-"

"My life isn't more important than yours, Sidney!" Elena screamed, cheeks a brilliantly violent red. "Not yours, not Stefan's, not anyone's!"

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed up the steps. I heard a door open and slam shut again, and just barely caught the beginning of a stream of angry sobs. My chest felt so tight I could hardly breathe, and my knees quaked. Just standing upright abruptly felt like the most difficult thing I had done in a very long time.

And then, through the windows on either side of the door, I saw him once again.

* * *

Elijah didn't look down from the night sky when I opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. I considered him for a moment, worrying my bottom lip, before shoving my hands in my jacket pockets and sliding down next to him on the rickety swing bench. His eyes slid to my face and stayed there for a moment, unblinking.

I glanced away from him. "So, you've been following me."

"Yes," he replied, calm, unhesitant.

"Why? Why me and not Elena?" I asked, eye lids suddenly very heavy. The cushion at my back felt all too warm and soft. If he hadn't been sitting next to me, I might have been able to fall asleep out there.

Elijah raised an eyebrow and lifted a finger to loosen his tie. "I wanted to see if I was right about you." I jerked my head up in confusion, and he nodded, continuing, "I was. You and I are very similar, Sidney. We will both do anything and everything in our power to protect our family."

"So, what?" I cracked. "You were trying to size up Elena's biggest guard dog?"

"In a way, yes," he admitted. "And, possibly, my biggest ally, as well."

I snorted. "You know, you keep bringing up this whole me-helping-you thing, as if you think it's actually going to happen. But I'm pretty damn sure that I've made it abundantly clear I'd do anything to protect Elena."

"You have. And that is exactly why I believe we should become partners."

He turned his body toward mine, leaning forward, eyes pleading. "Sidney, please believe that everything I have done thus far is to protect your sister," he appealed. "Surely you see that? I killed my brother's men tonight for her, have watched over her when you could not. I give you my word that my only intention is to stop Niklaus from sacrificing her."

I considered him for a moment, tired mind analyzing every other interaction with him, every other word I could remember him saying.

"Let's say I did believe you," I bridged hesitantly. "That still doesn't explain why you've been so fixated on me."

Elijah stared a moment longer, and then he asked, "Sidney, would you be willing to die to save your sister?"

* * *

 **A/N: So first of all, I owe you guys a massive,** _ **massive**_ **apology. I could give a ton of reasons for my absence (my first professional acting job, summer classes, rehearsing two shows at once), but in reality, there's not much excuse for not updating this story for almost four months. A huge thank you to all of you for sticking with Sidney and me for this long. I appreciate it so much more than you know.**

 **I want to make a promise right now that no matter what happens, and no matter how long it takes** _ **I will finish this series.**_ **I can guarantee you that this series will never be abandoned. I will finish it, give it my all, and get it out there.**

 **Thank you, thank you, thank you for being such an incredible audience. I love you all so, so freaking much.**

 **~Lil**


	9. Being Human

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 9: Being Human**

April rocketed into Mystic Falls with the force of a cyclone. A near-constant, torrential downpour ripped across town and turned the football field into a marsh. The trails and bridges surrounding the Falls and river had been shut down in case of flooding, and all of us crammed into the humid cafeteria at lunchtime as we couldn't eat in the courtyard like we usually did.

Fluff invaded my hair, mud caked my sneakers, and frowns worried at my face.

I felt like Elena and I were trapped in an endless episode of _Tom and Jerry._ She exited rooms as I entered them and hitched rides with anyone and everyone (even Tyler fucking Lockwood at one point) to avoid having to get into a car with me. Family dinners were practically nonexistent these days, and I was persona non-grata in Elena's bedroom or at her lunch table.

To make matters even worse, Anastasia hadn't been in school for days. She claimed to be sick over the phone- too sick for me to come over- but her voice sounded perfectly fine, and she was the kind of person who would try to come to school, even if she was vomiting up a lung.

I was suspicious, and then I was guilty for being suspicious. It was a nasty cycle.

Anastasia's absence forced me to realize how distant I had become from the rest of my friends, now that I couldn't play on the soccer team. (I had missed tryouts for the spring season while in my Katherine-induced coma.) So, sure, I sat with Sutter, Angelica and Madison at lunch, but it wasn't like I had anything to talk to them about.

Stefan finally tracked me down on Friday afternoon, just before fifth period. I saw him coming as I stood at my locker, that raise in his eyebrows and quirk at his lips, and sighed.

"I'm fine, Mom," I grumbled, swinging my backpack off of one shoulder and unzipping it. "No need to hover."

Stefan settled himself against the bank of lockers next to mine. "You sure about that?"

"No."

I leaned my burning cheek against the cool metal of the door, interrupted by pictures of friends and family, wishing I could scream into the locker without looking like a complete psychopath.

Stefan's eyebrows gave a commiserating scrunch. "That bad, huh? Elena is icy when she's mad at you. I have enough experience to know."

That made me grin, and I began the process of switching out my Anatomy textbook for a British Literature one, and a binder for my notebook. "It's not just Elena," I continued. "It's… everyone- _everything_ -" I sighed and paused again. "Anastasia hasn't been in school at all this week, and I've barely talked to her… I'm worried."

"You're suspicious," Stefan corrected, arms folded over his chest. "Klaus is messing with your head, Sidney, I understand, but paranoia is helping no one. Would it hurt to try to be normal for a little while?"

"While what? While we wait for Klaus to try and kill Elena?" I questioned, avoiding eye contact by glaring at Kelly Leach, who had been staring at us.

Stefan sighed deeply, routinely flipping a copy of _Doctor Faustus_ back and forth in his big hands. "I'll check on her for you," he told me finally. "But please, try to relax, alright?"

I snorted. "Easier said than done."

* * *

Anastasia didn't think she had every been this anxious before, and that was saying something. She felt she'd lived her entire life balancing on the edge of a dagger, her friends on one side, her father on the other. And now Klaus was about to flick her off and send her tumbling into the abyss, and she _wasn't ready._

She wasn't ready to leave behind late nights at the Gilberts' house and watching Sidney herd Elena and Jeremy about like a sheep dog. She wasn't ready to leave behind long drives listening to Elvis on the radio, and hours spent at the Grille or the local movie theater. She wasn't ready to stop secretly texting Sidney in Computer Science, or stop slipping notes into her locker.

She wasn't ready to betray her best friend.

Anastasia felt her nail slice through the stem of the sage leaf she was plucking and dig into the meat of her thumb. She huffed angrily through her nose. A tanned, calloused hand covered hers and guided it away from the plant.

"You're hurting my shrub," her father chided. He turned her bodily in the direction of their kitchen. "Go. Make yourself useful. Put together hex bags for me."

Anastasia frowned, staring down at the crushed leaf sticking to her sweaty palm. "Yes, sir," she grit out, rubbing the sprig off on her jeans.

"Hurry," his monotone voice commanded her as she moved to the piles of herbs and muslin squares. "We haven't much time."

What felt like an iron glove squeezed at Anastasia's stomach. She shook her head and turned nimble fingers to cutting pieces of twine. "When is Klaus supposed to arrive?" she asked, praying it would be soon. Praying to get this all over with and get her normal, not-stagnant father back.

She supposed it was too much to ask for the rest of her life to come back with him.

"By the next full moon," her father replied, nodding at the silver orb glowing intrusively through their glass backdoor. "But your friend, Sidney, doesn't need to know that."

"I know," Anastasia replied automatically, but she also knew Sidney would find out sooner rather than later. Shit was about to hit the fan in a big way.

"And when he does come," her father continued, "you won't have any problems with cutting ties, will you?"

"No," Anastasia answered, "I won't."

And from where he listened on the roof, Stefan felt his jaw set with a _click_.

* * *

Elena had a hard time breathing these days.

Every time she so much as glimpsed at her family or friends or _Stefan_ she had this horrible, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that this was the last time she would ever see them. Mostly because it very well might be. She was constantly searching for some way to evade her family and friends and give herself up before it was too late _._ The needling stress of even considering running away from her loved ones hurt Elena in ways she hated: ways she hadn't felt since her parents had died.

The air in the sitting room was thick with stress, and Elena couldn't stop squirming where she sat in the window seat, pretending to read _The Crucible_. Jenna was typing robotically on her laptop, oblivious to the tension between her charges, while Jeremy sketched like a maniac in the black book none of them were allowed to look at, and Sidney worked to solve what seemed like a very complicated chemistry equation.

Elena had just reached the first time Abigail slaps Betty when she decided that she really couldn't take any more of this; neither the grim play, nor the grim room. She stood, and Sidney's eyes shot up to peer suspiciously at her. What, was Elena not even allowed to be in a different room now?

"I'm going upstairs," she announced, barely able to hide the grumble.

Jenna and Jeremy both muttered some variation of "goodnight", but as Elena closed the door to the bathroom she shared with Sidney, she heard her sister come upstairs, too. And so, it seemed, Elena was smothered once again.

She sighed around a mouthful of toothpaste and spit, taking birth control and depression medication, removing makeup, and washing her face with clinical indifference. Boredom and guilt weighed on her shoulders like a barbell at times like these, when Elena wasn't strong like Sidney and the Salvatores or powerful like Caroline and Bonnie. When all she could do was wait.

Elena hated having to be the one who waited. She reminded herself far too much of Catherine Earnshaw and Natasha Rostova in those moments- characters she absolutely loathed. Elena had always wondered how they could be such passive players in their own lives, how they could be so content with such horrendous destinies.

But she was determined not to share their roles. If Elena's world was going to go down in flames, it would be because she had lit the match.

Resolute, she stepped back into the hallway, already formulating a plan to sneak out her window and across the roof, the same way she'd used to get to parties she wasn't supposed to be going to for years. Elena's eyes seized on Sidney's leather jacket, hanging carelessly off the banister. After a split-second, she grabbed it and slid it on, letting herself settle slightly at the familiar smell of lavender and coffee beans.

Back into her own room and to the window, which she slid open, wincing as it rattled in its flame. It was as Elena went to remove the screen that Elijah grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him.

She really, really would have yelled out. But that was a bit hard to do when there was a hand over your mouth.

"Trying to sneak out through a window?" Elijah commented drily as Elena sank her teeth into his unflinching palm. "Really? And here I'd thought you'd be more original than that."

Elena thrashed against his arm, finally batting it aside and shrieking, " _Sidney!_ "

There was a clatter from the room next to hers, and not seconds later, Sidney appeared, plus stake, minus shirt.

Her mouth twisted into a chillingly familiar snarl. She raised the stake. She lowered it when she saw the vampire. "Jesus God, Elijah! How the hell did you get in here?"

 _What the fuck?_

"Everything okay up there?" Jenna's voice called.

"Yeah, we're fine!" Sidney called back.

 _Seriously. What. The. Entire. Fuck._

Elijah cocked a head in the direction of the door and the downstairs, taking a step back from Elena and readjusting a mussed cufflink. "Your aunt," he clarified, "is quite the welcoming hostess."

Sidney gave a sigh of long suffering, tossing her head back in frustration and rubbing at tired eyes. "Leave," she muttered.

Elena pretended not to notice the way Elijah's eyes lingered hungrily on the scars that littered Sidney's chest… Or how _weird it was_ that he was seeing them at all.

"Are you sure? I believe that was what you'd call dodging a bullet," Elijah joked drolly.

Sidney glared stonily and crossed her arms. "I'm _sure_ ," she snapped. "Goodbye."

Elijah gave a mocking bow, and like incense smoke, was gone. Elena turned on her sister. " _What the hell was that_?"

"He's on our side," Sidney explained quietly, snapping the screen back into place and shutting the window with a final-sounding clack. "And in case you're thinking about trying that stunt again, Bonnie cast a spell. You can't leave the house without me or Jeremy. I'd like my jacket back. Now. Please."

And all Elena could do was gawk, and hand over the coat.

* * *

"You aren't watching the weird demon-sex scene," Damon muttered into my hair.

I sighed and burrowed further into his bare chest, trying to make myself relax as his hands stroked my bare left arm, and denim-clad right thigh. "Sorry," I whimpered.

Another attempt was made to lose myself in _Rosemary's Baby_ , and the heat of Damon's blunt nails and gentle fingers tracing paths through fabric and setting fire to the skin underneath, and the sensations in direct opposition of that. The cold tracks left in the wake of the strokes against my arm, and the soft, pillowy kisses placed regularly against the top of my head. Damon was doing his best to make me feel as safe and un-anxious as possible, but for the life of me, it just wasn't working.

I had shown up at the Boarding House, miserable and sleepless, almost three hours after the Elena/Elijah debacle. She knew, now, that I didn't consider Elijah and enemy anymore, and I would have been stupid not to believe Damon would find out eventually. And he would be pissed. He would start demanding answers that I would refuse to give him, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Jeremy had volunteered to Elena-sit after taking a good look at my face, and I had gone to hide from my Damon-anxieties with- Who else? My Damon.

I figured I should make some good memories while I still could.

Damon snapped the band of my panties, and my hand reached up and slugged his arm reflexively. "Hey, hey, hey," I joked, nudging away the nose snuffling at my neck. "Don't ruin the elastic, I got these specially for you."

I felt him grin into the skin beneath my ear. "Does the bra match?" he asked, fingers spanning up under the hem of my tank top.

"Yes," I giggled, heat flooding at the digits tracing the edges of my underwire.

"Can I _see_?"

I bit my lip and sat up, letting certain areas skim against other certain areas with a cheeky grin. I ripped my tank top up over my head, tossing it down to join my jeans on the floor.

Damon groaned and turned me to face him, raking his gaze up and down my body appreciatively. "Green," he commented, smirk like silk on his lips. "Like your eyes?"

"Your favorite color," I crooned, laughing as he dived in to kiss my open mouth.

There was a crash from downstairs. Damon pulled back before we could make contact and leaped out of bed, sending me flying to the edge of the mattress.

"The fuck, dude?"

"Sorry. Sorry- home invasion more important. Will eat you out later to make up for it."

"Fuck you."

"With pleasure."

Together, we crept silently into the hallway and to the top of the stairs. Rose emerged from the room the Salvatores were renting out to her, eyebrows raised.

"Having a nice shag?" she whispered, nodding at my lingerie. "Good pick, Sidney. You look smashing."

"Shut up," I hissed.

The two vampires perked up at a noise I couldn't hear, and in a flash, were gone. From downstairs, I heard a loud snarl and another shatter, and I made to run after them before pausing, turning back to the bedroom, and rooting around in my crumpled jacket for my stake. I heard Rose's voice yell out in pain, and I dashed down to join the fray, praying that a boob wouldn't pop out in the middle of the fight.

And when I made it into the living room- Shit. _Shit_!

That was a fucking werewolf!

Somehow, I didn't think my stake was going to do me much good.

Rose's prone form was draped over the ruins of Damon's prized leather couch, while my boyfriend/lover/soulmate fended off the beast with an iron fire poker. The wolf was a huge one though, fur dark brown with splashes of dirty grey and white, and Damon, for the first time I could remember, wasn't strong enough to fend it off on his own. Without a second thought, I leaped forward, dragging the sharpened tip of my stake down its back and through fur and meat to scrape spine.

The wolf howled its pain, and turned. I jumped back from snapping jaws, slashing my weapon across its snout, and saw Damon grab the thing in a headlock as I ducked and rolled. Rose was back on her feet, blood pouring from in between slashes of blue nightshirt and porcelain skin. She jumped over my head and to the imprisoned wolf, burying a clawed hand in its chest and _tugging._ The wolf let out a gurgling, enraged yelp and bit forward, ripping out a chunk of Rose's throat. She coughed and choked but continued, and in the next second, a still-beating heart lay on the carpet next to me.

Damon made a disgusted noise, dropping the corpse. "So much for my mother's favorite rug."

* * *

"How do you and Stefan not own a blender?" I questioned as Damon and I clambered out of his car after a midnight run to Walmart. "The Boarding House is a _Boarding House._ Did your guests never want margaritas?"

Damon shrugged, his new blender tucked under his armpit. "No, mostly they just wanted me to stop torturing them and end their miserable lives already."

I eyed him warily, assessing the crazy-eyebrows, head-swaggle thing he was doing. "You're joking, right?"

"Am I?" Damon queried, lengthening his strides and walking up the porch before me.

"Are you?" I asked, jogging to keep up with him. "Wait, Damo- Damon?"

I caught up with him in the kitchen, where he was methodically unboxing and assembling the new blender. Rose sat on one of the chrome barstools, freshly showered and changed into a new nightshirt. She was tracing patterns into the container of margarita salt, but looked up at me and grinned. I noticed, suddenly, that her bite mark had yet to heal. It made an ugly red circle at the place where her neck and shoulder met.

"Shouldn't that be gone by now?" I pointed out, nodding at it and unscrewing the bottle of tequila.

Rose nodded, quickly followed by a shrug. "Yes," she replied. "At least, it should be if I had drunk anything in the past week."

"There're blood bags in the mini fridge in my room," Damon told her, not looking up from the ice he was pouring into the blender. "Ignore the underwear stabbed to the wall."

"Are they yours?" Rose quizzed me.

"No!" I answered, at the same time Damon chirped, "Hell yes."

Rose shook her head in distaste, although with a chuckle, and disappeared. I turned to Damon and whacked him with a dish towel.

"Was that really necessary?" I demanded.

Damon snorted, tensed, and then suddenly I was on the ground with a thigh between my legs and a hand pinning my wrists to the tile. The crook of the other arm cradled my head, protecting it from the floor. Damon growled playfully and sucked a mark on my jaw.

"Yes, it was necessary," he decided in a mock-commanding voice. "I have to claim my territory."

I scowled and head-butted him. "Not territory, Damon."

Before he could retort (and I knew he was going to retort), I heard the faintest yelp of pain that must have sounded a lot louder in Damon's ears. He jumped away from me and was gone up the stairs. A moment later: "Get up here, Siddie!"

I scrambled up onto my knees and then my feet, bounding over the bloodstained carpet and up the stairs, down the hall to Damon's room. A blood bag had burst on the floor, splattering plasma across walls and ceilings, and Rose, who was cradled in Damon's arms, her bite-mark a livid, angry green, and dripping pus all over her limp form.

* * *

A quick call to Carson gave us the answers we needed. What we hadn't known, what we _should have known,_ was that werewolf bites were like vampire cyanide. The minute teeth brushed skin, the unlucky succubus was sentenced to a second death, one that was sure to be far more painful than the first. According to Carson, victims experienced hallucinations, night-terrors, sleep paralysis. Werewolf venom turned vampire blood to dust, their veins to black. In less than five hours, Rose would be gone.

And there was no known cure.

Damon had gone to the Grille, in hopes that one of Mason's old friends (who had apparently made Mystic Falls their new stomping ground- _What the fuck even was my life anymore?_ ) would show up for a drink and he could quiz them for answers. I stayed behind with Rose, trying to ignore the way her breath caught in her throat on every third exhale.

She was splayed across the bed in one of the Salvatores' many guest rooms, linen sheets twisted around her sweating skin. I sat in a leather armchair in the corner of the room. My fingers drummed restlessly against my jeans, my Converse tapped robotically against the carpet.

I couldn't just sit still and let one of my people die like this.

I bit my lip, considered, and reached for the phone in my back pocket. I unlocked it and scrolled through my contacts, ignoring the five missed calls and twenty texts I had from Stefan. He was probably going to ask me questions about Elena, and I couldn't deal with him right now. Instead, I let my thumb hover over the newest number in my phone, hesitating, and then deciding.

Elijah answered after the second ring.

" _Sidney_ ," he greeted. " _I hope nothing is amiss. I'm standing outside your house right now and everything seems alright."_

"I'm not at my house," I told him quietly, trying to ignore how weird it was that he was still watching over Elena and me like this. "I'm at the Salvatores'. Listen, what do you know about werewolf bites?"

" _That they don't bode well for vampires who receive them. I'm assuming one of yours has."_

"Yes," I breathed, hating myself for the amount of desperation that seeped out with that word. "Yes, Rose was bitten by one that attacked me and Damon. Do you know how to fix it?"

" _I do. Unfortunately, the only known cure involves Niklaus, and as it was not you or one of your Salvatores that was bitten, I'm not overtly distressed. I promised to help you protect your sister, and that involves nothing but me making sure you stay alive until such time as it's necessary for you not to be. So unless your life is in peril, I will have to say goodbye."_

I shot up in my seat, ready to beg now. "Elijah, wait-!"

From the bed, Rose's growling, distorted voice snarled; " _You_!"

" _Sidney. Sidney, who was that-?"_

Rose lunged at me. I screamed.

* * *

Later, I pulled myself up from the floor and the shattered pieces of my phone, and dashed out the door after Rose.

Later, I followed her to the high school as dawn broke and my right arm hung limp, broken, and bleeding at my side.

Later, I ran after her as fast as I could through the halls, to find her with her fangs buried in some pour student's neck.

Later, I sucked up my feelings and struck her upside the head with the flat of my stake.

Later, she bodily threw me into a locker and was at my throat in an instant.

Later, Elijah broke her spine from behind and told me; "Next time, don't follow her."

Later, I brought Rose back to the Boarding House.

Later, Damon gave her good dreams to die with while I staked her through the heart.

* * *

My eyes hurt. I hadn't cried this much since the night my parents died; hadn't wanted to think about death at all, actually, which was a bit inescapable these days. But the truth was that it was coming for me and my family, and coming soon.

"Did we do the right thing?" I asked, angrily shoving tears off of my cheeks with the heel of my palm. "Did we- should we have waited-?"

Damon grunted and shifted in his chair next to mine at Rose's bedside. A tentative hand stroked the top of mine before taking it. "You can't ask yourself questions like that, Siddie. You'll go crazy."

"I'm already going crazy," I muttered forlornly, before hopping to my feet and stumbling out of the room. I didn't want to hang around long enough to feel Rose's body go cold.

Damon trailed after me as I drifted back into the kitchen and to one of the beers in the fridge, which I popped on the side of the countertop and chugged posthaste. The alcohol, of course, did nothing to help with my pounding headache. I felt a lot like an idiot.

"I don't have to worry about you poisoning yourself again, do I?" Damon asked suspiciously.

I groaned and made a face at the empty bottle before chunking it. "No," I told him, "but maybe you should worry about my brain exploding."

Damon gave a humorless chuckle and danced ice-cold fingers up the length of my broken arm. He frowned and bit into his wrist. "Drink," he commanded, shoving the bleeding wound into my mouth. "Can't have our best reindeer down with Santa Klaus coming to town."

"Maybe don't make fun of the original vampire trying to kill my sister?" I suggested after I had swallowed and rinsed the blood out of my mouth with the last of my beer.

At that moment, the backdoor slammed open and Stefan materialized in front of us, scared eyes flaming. "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded.

"Well, hi to you, too, Steffy," Damon grumbled.

"This isn't about you," Stefan shot, eyes fastened on my confused face. "Why haven't you been answering my calls, Sidney? And what the hell have you been doing for the past- I don't know- _eight hours_?"

That steel thing in my spine reared up and made me spit back; "I kind of just had to kill a friend of mine because she went crazy and tried to eat me, but please, keep on yelling at me, Stefan, I really appreciate it."

He sobered and looked at me with bright eyes. I saw him calm his breath, and then he ran his hands through his hair before biting out, "There's something you need to know about Anastasia."

Ice inched up my toes and legs and stomach, through my chest, stopping to clench tightly around my heart, before it settled itself into my throat. I tried to clear it out and ended up whispering, "What?"

"She and her father have been spying on you and Elena for Klaus. She's the one who told him that Elena existed. She's the one who told him where Elena lives. Her father is the one who will be performing the sacrifice when Klaus gets here. Sidney, she's not your friend. She's been lying to you this entire time."

There was this loud roaring in my ears and a lot of blood rushed my face. I bit my lip so hard it broke. Tears welled behind my eyelids.

 _Anastasia was a traitor._

Damon's hand became a comforting weight on my shoulder. "So, what are we going to do about it?" he asked me quietly.

* * *

When Anastasia opened her front door, I punched her in the face.

There was something, so, so satisfying about feeling the perfect, button nose crunch around my fist, and hot, wet blood leak onto it. I wanted to puke and cry and scream at the same time, but I ended up settling on just one of the three.

"Jig's up, 'Stasia!" I yelled, ignoring the Salvatores behind me and Mr. Graham running up over Anastasia's shoulder. "You fooled me- you fooled me for a damn long while, but no more. I'm not as dumb as you seem to think I am, and I don't love you more than I love my family." My voice broke then, and I hated myself for it.

Anastasia's blue eyes gleamed wetly at me. I couldn't tell if she was crying because of me or because of the punch.

"You tell Klaus-" I began, and then stopped. I blinked away tears and bit my already-too-bitten lip. "You tell Klaus that I am _coming for him._ He made a big mistake using you against me, and he's going to pay for it." My face screwed up, and I spat my next words at her: "He took one sister from me. I won't let him kill the other one."

And with that, I turned on my heel and ran, ran away from the best friend who was as good as dead to me.

* * *

 **A/N: And with that, my dear viewers, Sidney and Anastasia's friendship is officially at an end! As I am aware the majority of you can't stand Anastasia, I doubt anyone but Sidney is incredibly torn up about this. As always, thank you so much for your patience, and my love for you is unending. Please leave a review if you feel so inclined, and expect our next chapter to come sometime before Christmas Day. Happy Thanksgiving for the American/normal Thursday for my international readers! Much love!**

 _ **Next time:**_ _Sidney struggles with the darkness she now finds herself capable of, furthered by Elijah's constant hovering and her hated Uncle John's reappearance in town, summoned by an ill-fated call to Isobel. Keeley and Caroline find themselves in hot water, no thanks to Tyler, forcing Sidney and the Salvatores to finally confront the growing werewolf population of Mystic Falls._


	10. Gone to the Dogs

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 10: Gone to the Dogs**

"You're bleeding."

Keeley glanced up at Stefan from where she sat on the floor of the school's dance studio, unlacing her pointe shoes. "Yeah," she acknowledged, "I am. That's kind of what we ballerinas do, though."

Stefan flinched slightly, switching his weight in the doorway, and she couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Come on in. I'm not the one who bites, here," she prodded at him, chuckling at her own joke.

With a weak grin, Stefan did. He was almost immediately looming over her. Keeley tried not to notice the way his nostrils flared when she eased the shoes off her feet, revealing a burst, bleeding blister.

She bridged; "I'm guessing you need something from me?"

"Why do you assume that?"

Keeley heaved something that was in-between a sigh and a groan as she swung herself to her feet. "No offense," she began, "but you, Sidney, and your brother only ever really come to me if you need something, so I just kind of…"

The guilty eyebrow-twitch proved it.

"Don't be weird, dude. What do you need?"

Stefan hesitated a little bit. Keeley watched the way his thoughts ran through his head, between the pinch of his eyebrows and out through his mouth: "I'm sure Caroline's told you about the Klaus business."

There was an unpleasant roiling in Keeley's stomach. Big, bad, Original vampires coming to town did not mean well for smart-mouthed, human lackeys. "Yeah, you could say that."

"We could use some help protecting Elena," Stefan finally admitted. "I was wondering if you could try giving Isobel a call?"

Sometimes Keeley forgot that she and Elena were related- _sisters_ , technically, or at least half-sisters- which was more than Sidney and Elena were, as crazy as that was. Keeley and Elena shared a mother and a tendency to be abandoned by said mother, but that was where the similarities ended.

Elena had been given up to the Gilbert family. Keeley had been left behind with her father while Isobel galivanted off into the vampire world she so adored. Keeley hadn't even known her mother was still alive (sort of) until this year, and the revelation wasn't a pleasant one. Isobel had tracked Keeley down a few months ago and offered to take her with her on her adventures, but Keeley had refused; an interaction she was now regretting telling the Salvatores and their _Scooby Doo_ gang about.

She had Isobel's number. She could call her right now, and Keeley wanted to help her friends, but she didn't want to be embarrassed when Isobel inevitably didn't answer.

Isobel was a topic Keeley and her dad endeavored to avoid at all costs. Stefan couldn't possibly know that, but he certainly had to have an idea of how awkward what he was asking her to do was.

He was watching her with those too-big, fanfiction-green eyes that saw more than she wanted him to. "Keeley," he urged softly, "I wouldn't be asking you to do this if someone's life wasn't on the line. But Isobel knows more about Klaus than we do. You're smart enough and caring enough to see that this is important, so please. You're the only person I can think of that she would be willing to talk to."

A groan built up in the middle of Keeley's chest, and she sighed it out in a huff, rubbing hands against a still-sweaty face. "You owe me one," she grumbled, leaning down to fish her phone out of her dance bag.

"I owe you two," Stefan pointed out quietly. "You saved my life a few weeks ago."

Keeley's hands paused in wrapping ribbons around pointe shoes. She hesitated, wrinkled her nose, then put them in the bag and came back up with her phone. "You don't owe me anything," she told him softly. "I'd have done that for anyone."

Stefan's discomfort showed in his shifting weight again. "Still. Thank you."

Now Keeley was the awkward one. She could feel heat on her cheeks, and she let her hair down from its tight bun to hide the flush. "No worries," she excused, brushing hands through her tangled curls. "So, do you just want me to call her now?"

"What?" Stefan had been staring at her with a blank look in his eyes that he shook off after her question. "Yes- sorry- if you're up for it."

"I want to help. I'm up for it," Keeley deadpanned. Not leaving Stefan any more room to hum and haw, she scrolled through the contacts, let her thumb float above Isobel's number, and then dialed.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Four rings.

" _Isobel Flemming's phone, how may I help you?_ " an annoyed and decidedly manly voice answered.

Stefan, who Keeley had forgotten could hear both sides of the conversation, since he was a vampire and all, raised his eyebrows to an almost comical degree.

Keeley cleared her throat and ignored the hand held out for her phone. "Sorry, um, is Isobel- um, is she there?" she asked.

A pause. A clink of china. _"Yes."_ Another clink, accompanied by a swallow. Keeley wrinkled her nose. Stefan resorted to trying to snatch the phone out of her hands, but she dodged with a well-placed, half-pirouette. " _Who should I say is calling?"_

Stefan shook his head desperately. Keeley ignored him.

"Keeley. Her daughter."

"No. No. No- Keeley-! Hang up now."

The man's voice took on a considerable level of interest. _"Ah, Keeley."_ He let the e's in her name draw out in an assessing, kind of creepy way.

This kind of intense focus, centered on _her_ , of all people, was not a sensation that she was used to, nor one that she enjoyed. Keeley wasn't smart like Sherlock Holmes, or beautiful like Natasha Rostova, or strong like Batman, or empathetic like Will Graham. Dangerous people didn't pay attention to her, and she didn't _want_ them to pay attention to her.

Stefan finally succeeded in snatching the phone out of her hands. "Forget about her, Johnathan," he insisted. "We were trying to reach Isobel. But if you're with her, we clearly shouldn't be getting her involved in this situation."

Oh, shit. _Johnathan Gilbert._ Keeley nervously tendou-ed her feet back and forth, many of her dad's John-centered rants running through her mind as Stefan argued with the man.

"You don't- _Don't come- We don't need you-!_ God _damn_ it!"

Stefan's hands tightened to whiteness around her phone, and Keeley felt that all too familiar twinge of vampiric fear in the pit of her stomach. But Stefan was Stefan, Grandpa-teddy bear extraordinaire, and she knew she shouldn't fear him- But Keeley still did.

He handed her the phone, fingers trembling and cold when they brushed against hers, only to be pushed through his reddish faux-hawk.

"Johnathan Gilbert is coming back to town," Stefan finally grunted out, a lot of wince in his eyes and mouth.

Keeley gave him an apologetic grin, not quite sure if there was anything she could say to make him feel any better about the fact that all four Gilberts were about to murder him. "Well, we done fucked up."

* * *

Stefan took Keeley to the bookstore on Main Street to make up for bringing her mom up again. Keeley wanted to tell him there was no need, but she liked books too much to be the bigger person this time around. Also, her dad had spilled coffee on her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ two nights ago, and she needed a new one, but Stefan didn't need to know that.

It was so easy to get caught up in the tragic-vampire-adventure storyline, that sometimes, Keeley forgot that she genuinely valued her friends and enjoyed spending time with them.

Stefan, when he wasn't pushing and prodding at her, was especially pleasant to be around. He listened to Keeley's rants and made sense of them better than her and Caroline and her dad combined. And he bought her coffee and new books, and sometimes laughed at her jokes, and smelled like cinnamon and paper, and oddly, was becoming a close friend in the way that Keeley didn't have a lot of. Stefan was becoming like Caroline and Keeley's dad, and that was a little scary but also a lot good, and she liked it- liked him.

Caroline called when Keeley and Stefan were halfway through the autobiography section, and Keeley could hear her terror through the line.

" _Where are you?_ " Caroline demanded. Her breath shook the same way it had at the end of cheer practices when she was still human.

"Read-It-Again with Stefan," Keeley answered immediately. "What happened?"

" _He-Tyler- Oh my God- actually, like_ attacked me- _He attacked me! Holy- Holy shit- Stefan is…?"_

Stefan nodded at Keeley, eyebrows concerned and drawn together, and replied, "I'm on my way. Where are you?"

" _The senior parking lot,"_ Caroline answered before Keeley could wonder at her and Stefan's ability to be able to hear each other. " _Please come- Keeley, don't. Stay. I don't want to…"_

"No, I get it," Keeley replied, suddenly very itchy, "I really do. Don't worry about it. Stefan will probably be there in, like, three seconds. Remind me to kick Tyler's ass the next time I see him, and call me when you're ready to tell me what just happened."

Caroline's voice was fraught with relief. _"As usual, you two are the best, and Keeley, I love you. Thank you."_

She hung up. Stefan's hand wrapped around Keeley's, suddenly, stopping the fingers she hadn't even realized were scratching at her throat.

"Stop," he told her softly. "No one's going to suck your blood again anytime soon, I promise. Certainly not Caroline."

Keeley suddenly felt the need to apologize, and blurted out; "I know she wouldn't- not on purpose- you either- She loves me a lot, and I feel… I know. I know she wouldn't."

Stefan raised a brow, but Keeley didn't know what that was supposed to mean, and then he waved, and she blinked, and he was gone, and she was alone. Again.

This aloneness, this overwhelming _humanity,_ was becoming an achingly familiar sensation to her.

So, she buried herself in the back of the bookstore, behind a rather large edition of _The Completed Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald._ Keeley would have gone with Jane Austen, which is what she had originally been in the mood for, but the vampire antics had succeeded once more in killing her vibe, and making her crave major angst. The leather armchair she favored still conformed to her butt in that comforting way, and it was past sunset by the time Keeley had gotten through most of _The Great Gatsby._

A quick glance at the date on her phone told her it was payday, and as The Grille was on her way back to the apartment she and her dad shared, Keeley figured it only made sense to stop in and pick up her check. What did not make sense, however, was the angry flare of Tyler Lockwood's nostrils when he jumped up from his seat at the bar and stormed over to confront her.

"It's you," he spat, eyes sharp as flint, "isn't it?"

"What's me?" Keeley blurted out, more stunned by the fact that Tyler was talking to her than anything else. What little interactions she did have with him were limited to making gross faces at Caroline when he tried (and failed) to flirt with her while the two of them were together, and Keeley wasn't aware he even knew about those faces.

Tyler made a low rumble in the back of his throat, one that had Keeley taking an instinctive step away from him. It wasn't until now that she realized just how much taller than her he was. "The vampire. The one who's been teaching Caroline. She was normal until you came to town. _You did this to her._ "

"No," was all Keeley could stutter out, every step she took towards the door matched by one of his. "No, no, _no_ \- Tyler, for once in your life don't be an _idiot_ \- It wasn't me, and you _don't know what you're talking about so shut up_ -"

Tyler threw his fist out, nearly shattering the glass of the door. Matt's head snapped up from the bar he was tending. The confusion written across his face was both comforting and frightening, because as wholesome and good as Matt was, he loved Tyler a lot more than Keeley, and she knew that if this elevated to violence, that wouldn't be good. Feelings would get in the way of Matt getting in Tyler's way.

"Run," Tyler huffed, eyes going _brown, gold, brown, gold, brown, gold_ \- "Get the _fuck_ out!"

And Keeley wasted no time in doing just that.

* * *

Jeremy and Jenna's worry for Elena was tangible these days. I couldn't blame them; so was mine. She wasn't just avoiding me now; her contempt had spread to the rest of our family and friends, to the point where it seemed like all she did these days was skulk about her room and plot ways to commit euthanasia via-Klaus Mikaelson.

That afternoon had been no different. The minute me and my siblings arrived home, Elena had sprinted up the steps, and behind a closed door that Jeremy and I could hear slam from where we were in the entry way. Jeremy heaved a sigh and moved into the kitchen, leaving me to wonder how Elena was going to take-

Well, what Elijah and I were planning.

I bit my lip at the thought and shook my head, moving to follow Jeremy. Mostly because that was a hard thing to think about without feeling sick to my stomach, and thus far, Elena's weirdness had been the only thing to cover up _my_ weirdness.

Jeremy rattled around the kitchen, looking just as much at a loss as I felt. He pierced me with a glare that nearly made me flinch. I held it, returned it, and then dropped my bookbag on a barstool.

"She," Jeremy groaned, jerking his chin up at the ceiling, "is driving me _nuts._ "

"Me too," I answered distractedly. My eyes flicked through the room, idly cataloguing any possible threats. "Granted, the whole sacrifice-situation is probably what's driving her nuts, too."

Jeremy snorted through his nose, glaring at me, now. "Yeah, well, it's driving everyone crazy," he snapped, "you most of all. She knows that, so I don't understand why she's being so immature about it."

That sent an unpleasant lurch through my stomach. "Don't make me resent Elena," I told him. "Don't make me resent my sister when I'm- Just don't, alright, Jer? This is a rough time for all of us- her especially."

Another snort. Jeremy rolled his eyes in the way he knew I hated and said, "She's right. You really are trying to replace Mom and Dad."

I didn't think he meant to hurt me, but he still did. I retreated up to my bedroom and away from my siblings until sundown, when Jenna rumbled into the house in a flurry of slamming doors and aggravated screams.

"I hate him!" she was ranting to herself when I popped down to the kitchen to check on her. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I _hate him_!"

"Him who?" I demanded, hands over my ears.

"Johnathan fucking Gilbert!"

* * *

I wish I could say this was the first time I blew into the Boarding House in a righteous, Damon-caused fury. It was more like the twentieth or thirtieth time, but then again, who's counting? (Read: It was the twenty-seventh.)

"I'm assuming you found out about your Uncle Psycho?" Damon asked after looking at my face.

I growled under my breath, sparing a quick glance at the little wave Stefan had sent in my direction. "What do you think?"

Damon had the decency to look at least a little apologetic, but that was quickly ruined when he flopped into his favorite armchair and patted his lap. "To my credit, Stefan knew about it before me, and he didn't tell anyone about it, either. I had to find out when Uncle Dearest tried to kill me two days ago."

"Please don't bring me into this," Stefan requested in a tone of long-suffering.

"Shut it, Cullen," I told him.

"I swear to you, I am nothing like that character."

"What she said," Damon repeated, not even looking at his brother.

Stefan heaved a pained sigh and got to his feet, casting a longing look at the drink and book he was abandoning.

"Out," Damon barked, and true to little-brother-form, Stefan was gone a moment later.

Damon patted his lap again. "Come over here and tell Daddy what's wrong," he purred.

"Don't call yourself that," I dead-panned, and then to prove my point, sat down in the chair Stefan had vacated.

"Are you mad because I'm being kinky or still mad about me not telling you?"

A slight pressure was building in my temple and trickling down to my sinuses. I bit my lip to distract myself from the pain with more pain. "I'm mad," I said steadily, "that the uncle who's abused me, tried to kill you, and generally just fucked up our lives in the past is back in town, and you knew about it and didn't tell me. We don't keep secrets from each other, Damon."

He barked a humorless laugh and leaned forward. Coldly, he shot back, "That's bullshit, and you know it, Siddie. All we seem to do is keep secrets from each other. You've been hiding your little conversations with Elijah Fucker-son for almost a month, now."

My stomach dropped out of my body and onto the floor. My throat went dry. I croaked out; "How do you know about that?"

"He used it to taunt me last week," Damon replied quietly. "I didn't think it was true until now."

His secrets and mine came together and hung there, tense and thin, like a curtain between us. I wanted to tell him- wanted to tell _someone other than Elijah-_ about my deal with the devil. Because I was carrying it all on my own, and the weight was suffocating me to the point where I couldn't think too much about it without crying. But I couldn't tell Damon, couldn't tell anyone, without running the risk of ruining our plan. And I loved Damon and all the others too much for that.

So instead, I said; "I can't tell you about me and Elijah, and I'm sorry for that, but there's a good reason and you'll find out soon enough. But there's no excuse for you not telling me about Uncle John. We're a team, Damon-"

"Unless it benefits you," he interrupted me, eyes burning. "And if you can't tell me the truth, maybe you should just leave."

"I-" I stopped, looked at him, then nodded and got to my feet. My throat was tight, and my eyes were burning. "I'm sorry," I offered softly.

Damon wouldn't meet my eyes. "So am I."

And since there was nothing else that I could say, I left.

* * *

Grocery shopping trips were the repetitive sort of occasion that lulled Keeley into a kind of hum that overpowered the rapid fire, anxiety-fueled information explosion that usually occupied her brain. Make sure there was a new container of coffee grounds, accompanied with enough honey and half and half to temper it. Quick stop in the paper aisle for the pens they liked (gel for Dad, ballpoint for Keeley), with an unavoidable peruse of the books for new biographies and possibly a pathetic romance novel, depending on how horny Keeley was feeling that particular day. (It was lucky that her dad never came along on these excursions.) Then a robotic check off the list Dad had texted her earlier that day, and a quick stop for some Kit Kats because Dad loved them (although he wouldn't admit it), and she liked seeing him happy.

To the checkout, tell the bagboy "no thank you, I don't want you to flirt with me under pretense of helping me with my purchases", and then through the wet, dark parking lot to Dad's station wagon, borrowed for the trip.

The three, burly men in leather jackets surrounding said station wagon were not a normal part of the expedition. Keeley skidded to a stop when she saw them, her boots squeaking across the wet pavement.

"Uh, think you guys've got the wrong car," she stalled, shifting back and forth nervously.

"You Keeley Saltzman?"

 _Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie-_

"Shit, yes. Um, yeah, you've got the right car."

 _God fucking damn it, Keeley._

"Good. Then let's have a little chat."

* * *

Caroline Forbes didn't cry that often; Stefan knew that much, at least. He had only seen her do so once, after accidentally drinking from Keeley when she was first turned. Caroline was crying again now, once more, because of Keeley.

Stefan was starting to think that girl was much more important than he gave her credit for.

"You know we're going to get her back, right?" he asked, delicately (awkwardly, actually, probably) sitting down next to Caroline on the front porch swing of the Boarding House. "We always end up getting them back."

The leader of the werewolf pack that had come to Mystic Falls, Jules, had called Caroline about an hour ago to tell her that some of her wolves had taken Keeley earlier that night, and if Caroline wanted her back, she would have to come meet them in the middle of the woods. Caroline had turned to Sidney, who had (reluctantly) called Damon for help. Not long after, a panicked Alaric had turned up, wondering if any of them knew why his daughter hadn't come back from the grocery store.

Caroline didn't respond to Stefan's attempts at comfort, except for straightening up and wiping away the few tears that had ended up escaping.

"But you do know that you can't go after her yourself," he clarified, "right? Because if you do, you'll get yourself killed- or worse."

And Caroline nodded, but when Stefan came back outside half an hour later, she was gone.

* * *

Why anyone would ever so much as consider kidnapping Keeley Saltzman was beyond me. She was a hyperactive weirdo whose only connections to the supernatural world were her father (who basically had her under surveillance 24/7) and Caroline, neither of whom were high profile enough to warrant being pressed for any kind of ransom. At least, I had _thought_ Caroline wasn't important enough for that. Unless, apparently Tyler Fuck-wood got involved.

It was nice to know that my hatred for him was warranted beyond him just being a huge douche bag.

When I pulled up to the Boarding House, Stefan was standing on the front porch, looking a lot like a lost puppy. "What is it about me," he asked as I climbed out of my car, "that makes people want to leave me behind, so they can rush into dangerous situations?"

I groaned so deep I could feel it in my chest. "I'm guessing Caroline went after them?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"And Damon and Alaric," Stefan supplied reluctantly.

" _God damn it_!"

Stefan's hands were on my shoulders, shoving me back toward my car even as he plucked the keys out of my hands. "I think I heard- I remember hearing where they told Caroline to go- that trailer park that popped up in the middle of the woods in the sixties. Let's go before they all get themselves killed."

"They'll be fine. They've all faced odds like this before," I supplied drily as I ducked into the passenger side. There was still that twinge of worry in the bottom of my stomach that was always there when I knew Damon, or my friends were fighting something or someone. But it was just werewolves, and Damon had managed to take down Mason easily enough. It wasn't like they were fighting Klaus or Elijah, this time.

At the reminder, I pulled my phone out and began composing a text to Elijah. I didn't think he needed to be there, but he had told me to let him know anytime the people he deemed "important" (me, my family, or the Salvatores) were in danger.

"Don't you remember?" Stefan asked, worry tinging his tone in a way I wasn't comfortable with. "Werewolf bites are a death sentence to vampires."

And then, I did. Rose had died from it not a week ago. That terrified bit in my stomach tightened and convulsed, and before I knew it, I was saying; "Go to the Lockwood mansion."

"Why?"

"They kidnapped one of ours, we'll kidnap one of theirs," I decided finally, hands slipping into my back pocket to clutch at my gun.

Stefan nodded, a grim look on his face, and turned us around the outskirts of the town, lights flickering across the rain-streaked windows, to the Lockwood mansion, and the boy who flinched back from my glare when he opened the door.

"I didn't ask them to do this," Tyler Lock-whore insisted.

"Doesn't matter," I bit out. "Why did they take Caroline and Keeley?"

Tyler-the-motherfucker sighed and ran dumb hands through his dumb hair. "To get me to join their pack or something- I don't know, but I don't appreciate it."

"So, are you?" I demanded, and then when he didn't answer immediately, pressed; "Going to join the pack, I mean?"

"I don't know," he answered noncommittally. "I need to think about it."

That dark, thick thing that Elijah had put in my chest reared its ugly head, and I found myself pressing the barrel of my gun into Tyler's stomach.

I cleared my throat. "Let me make the decision for you. Get in the fucking car."

* * *

Dread hung around my arms and shoulders like a cape as I drove us to the trailer park. Stefan directed me from the backseat, where he kept the gun trained on Douchebag McGee's head. When we were a few yards away, I could hear the battle, and the moment we could see it, I threw the car into park and dashed into the fray.

Damon and Alaric were fighting back to back. Werewolves surrounded them, some turned, others not. There were no visible bitemarks on Damon. Good. I went for my gun- didn't have it, Stefan did, and a stake wasn't going to do shit against werewolves. Stefan was forcing Tyler out of the car-

We had a hostage. So, did they. I could negotiate- even if I wasn't good at it, it was _something._

" _STOP_!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Every head turned to face mine, Damon's scowl far more menacing to me than the werewolves'.

I felt Stefan come up behind me, and saw the way eyes narrowed and mouths twisted into snarls when they all saw Tyler.

"Who's your leader?" Stefan asked stiffly. "We're making Tyler's decision for him."

A wolf with blonde hair and eyes so sharp I could see them in the dark stepped forward. She was staring directly at Tyler, something like hunger in her mouth, and I felt the urge to grab him and run. If someone had been looking at one of my people like that, I knew I would have.

But this was Tyler, Tyler who was _hesitating to save Caroline and Keeley-_ Caroline and Keeley! The two people who, in my opinion, deserved to be saved the most; the most innocent, innocuous pair in Mystic Falls. Tyler was the one who had gotten them into this mess, and I would be damned if he wasn't the one who got them out of it.

"I'm the Alpha," said the woman, eyes still fixed on Tyler's. "Name's Jules. Ty, nice of you to show up, finally."

"Fuck off," Tyler snarked back. I bit my lip, not oblivious to the shakiness of his voice, and shook my head.

"Where are the girls?" Alaric demanded quietly. His hands shook where they gripped his gun.

Jules cocked her head in the direction of one of the trailers. An undeniably feminine scream came from inside that had my stomach bottoming out. I saw Stefan tense and Damon snarl. But Alaric was the one who started shooting.

The trailer park erupted in a way I had never experienced before. Several bodies fell. Several more turned into wolves. I saw Tyler jerk away from Stefan, and Stefan and Jules both lunge after him. I saw Alaric yank another gun out of his jacket and go ballistic. I saw Damon about to be bitten.

I ran like I hadn't since the fire. My stake went into a wolf and then was subsequently abandoned in her chest. Stefan had my gun- _I didn't have a weapon._

"Siddie, _what are you doing_?" Damon's voice was ringing in my head.

I ignored him, kept going towards him. A wolf sprang at me, and in the absence of a gun to shoot, I punched it in the face. Another lunged. I ducked and rolled. There was some metal rod (a fire poker?) on the ground. I picked it up, turned, swiped a man across the stomach with it. He howled, and I plunged it into his neck, pulled it out again. Needed a weapon, couldn't lose this one.

I felt Damon against my back, protecting it. There was a pang of something like guilt in my chest. I couldn't think about that right now. Not when all I had for a weapon was a fire poker. Not when there were wolves to stab and people to protect.

Bodies fell. There were more screams from the trailer. My fire poker became so slippery that I nearly lost grip of it a few times. The smell of blood and sweat and shit was stronger than it had ever been in any other battle. Through it all, there was Damon at my back. And no matter how mad at each other we were, I knew he would protect me.

And then suddenly, it was over.

There was a man's cry, a wave of utter _silence,_ and our enemies lay prostate about us.

A man I had never seen before, with dark skin and a newsboy cap grinned at us over the carnage. When I looked, Alaric, Stefan, and Damon all stood standing, Alaric the only one with any visible injuries. Tyler and Jules were missing. I let the fire poker clang to the ground, and wiped the mess of blood and sweat on my jeans.

"Who the fuck are you?" Damon demanded.

The man frowned, electricity sparking in the unreasonably blue eyes. "Jonas," he answered simply. "Elijah sent me."

Damon and I tensed at the exact same second. I sensed the same anger he had been throwing at me all week rise up in him again, and all I could do was wait for it to lash out. I felt sick to my stomach. That familiar dread circled around my neck like a noose.

Damon bit out; "And why would Elijah send you?"

Jonas cocked his head in my direction. "For her. He can't have her getting hurt so soon."

 _Oh, for crying out fucking loud!_

"I don't know him!" I clarified, pointing decidedly at Jonas. "I do not know this man, and I did not know Elijah was sending him."

"That's not what I'm pissed about, Siddie," Damon growled.

Jonas was smirking. "I think I'll take my leave, now," he decided, and then he did.

Alaric had long since gone to free Keeley and Caroline. Stefan stood like a deer in headlights, then took off into the trailer after Alaric, muttering under his breath about "always being in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Damon turned on me and opened his mouth.

"Don't," I interrupted him. "Dear God, please don't, because I can't tell you why Elijah cares about me."

"You know as well as I do that I can't accept that!" Damon thundered.

I tipped my head back and squinted up at the stars, heart a shattering mess in my heart, crumbling down into my stomach. "Damon, please-"

"No, you please," he barked. His hands were on my shoulders, eyes searching mine intensely, _pleading_ in a way that made tears burn at my ducts. "Sidney," he prompted, and then, " _Siddie,_ " he demanded, "what did Elijah say to you? What could he possibly have told you that would make you trust him?"

 _That there was a way to keep all of you safe. That none of you had to die this way. That Klaus was a force we couldn't even think of beating without his help._

"It doesn't matter," I insisted.

"Yes, it does. Because you're running into fights without a weapon. You're looking for threats everywhere. You're watching Elena like a hawk. You're jumping anytime someone gets near you. You're not sleeping. _And I'm not going to let you kill yourself over this_."

I couldn't say anything, because there wasn't anything to say that wouldn't sink me further in shit. So instead I just shook my head at him and started back toward my car. Tears began a steady trail down my cheeks and chin.

"Sidney!" Damon kept calling after me. " _Sidney!_ "

But I kept my head down, kept walking, kept moving toward the darkness.

And I was alone.

* * *

Keeley had read about torture before.

She had read about the "Pain Woman" in the Vietnam War, who had been unleashed on American soldiers and made them scream so loud that their brothers in arms could hear them from their camps miles away. About how it had taken three snipers and four years to take her down. About how no one who went into her tent ever made it out able to speak again.

Keeley had read about Chinese Water Torture and why it took such a toll on your mind. About waterboarding and how there was only a certain number of times you could do it to a person before their lungs were messed up for forever. About how some senators were pushing for rape to be used as a form of psychological torture in Guantanamo Bay, even though it violated the Geneva Convention.

She had seen it in _Silence of the Lambs,_ and _Game of Thrones,_ and in Sidney Gilbert's eyes and scars. But nothing, absolutely nothing, could prepare someone for the reality of it.

They had used a water gun.

Somehow, that was horrifying to Keeley. They had used a water gun full of vervain water on Caroline, and laughed as they sprayed her. There was nothing Keeley could do to stop them, so she had wrapped her arms around Caroline and held her, trying to deflect as much of the water as she could with her own body. That had lasted for a while, until the Alpha had come in. She had pulled Keeley off Caroline, had stuffed Keeley in a dog crate and told them to keep spraying Caroline until Tyler showed up.

And then when Tyler did show up, he had hesitated to let them free.

That was the angriest Keeley had ever seen Caroline- even more angry than when she had stormed into the trailer in the first place. She had lost it. She looked more like a monster to Keeley then than ever before, with patches of skin missing and blackness consuming her veins.

The wolf closest to Caroline had its heart ripped out of its chest. The water gun fell to the ground, and Keeley forced her hand through the slats of her cage to grab it and pull it out of the reach of the wolves. Tyler had snapped out of it and gone to release them, followed quickly by Keeley's dad. She hadn't seen his face like that since they thought her mom had died.

Things were a blur after that. Alaric and Stefan took Keeley and Caroline home. Damon handled Tyler, something a lot like rage on his face. Sidney was nowhere in sight, but Keeley spotted her stake buried in a dead wolf. Keeley pulled it out, brows drawn. It was gross, but she thought Sidney would appreciate getting it back- Keeley thought the other girl had said something about the stake belonging to her dead father, or something like that.

Dad and Damon left after dropping Keeley off to round up the rest of the wolves, and make sure they wouldn't be causing anymore trouble. And then, Keeley was alone again.

Normally, she would be happy about that.

Tonight, though, the shadows opened like jaws, and the piles of books looked more like prison watch towers. Keeley went to shower, but couldn't bring herself to take her clothes off. It still felt like she was being watched.

There was a knock on the door and she jumped nearly a foot in the air, grabbing the hunting knife Dad insisted she keep in her underwear drawer before going to answer it. A quick glance through the peephole confirmed it was Stefan, and he gave her a wry, apologetic grin when she opened the door.

"Hey," he rolled out, "how are you?" At the raise of her eyebrows, he amended, "Sorry. Dumb question. You're not great- Can I come in?"

Keeley nodded, and he stepped past the threshold, immediately scanning her for any visible injuries. Stefan's eyes landed on her wrist, mangled from her reach out of the dog cage. He held it up to his face, twisted in apology.

"You're bleeding," he stated dully.

Keeley's lip quivered. Her hands tightened into fists, and she let herself begin to cry. "Yeah," she answered, voice thick. "That's what people who have been kidnapped and stuffed in dog cages tend to do."

She hated the look on his face, pitying and apologetic and _sad._ She hated it even more when he enfolded her into his arms and held her as she broke down.

"I'm sorry," he kept saying. "I'm so sorry. But I promise, this is never going to happen to you again- I'll make sure of it."

* * *

 **A/N: What's up, guys! Hope you all had an amazing Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa/Pagan Winter Solstice/Other-winter-themed holiday! I also hope that you enjoyed this new chapter, so please leave a review below if you did! Thank you once again for your amazing support of these stories, and expect a new chapter by Valentine's Day!**

 _ **Next time:** The pressure is on as Elijah and Damon each attempt to stake a claim on Sidney's loyalty, pushing her to her limits, and forcing her to finally pick a side._


	11. Red Rover, Red Rover Send Sidney On Over

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 11: Red Rover, Red Rover, Send Sidney on Over**

Keeley was very visibly bored out of her mind. Stefan was, too, though he did a better job at hiding it. The ease with which they got through their math homework still pissed Caroline off, though, who had always hated anything that had to do with numbers.

Keeley sighed, drumming her pen against her notebook, and glumly traced the rim of her cappuccino cup. Caroline broke.

"Okay," the blonde reasoned, straightening up from her textbook and then slamming it shut. "Listen. _Just because_ some of us are _immortals_ who have gone to _medical school_ \- or- or _freakish super geniuses_ does not mean that we all can't enjoy hanging out together."

Keeley blinked and tossed the pen down onto the notebook. "Who says we aren't all enjoying hanging out together?"

"I'm enjoying hanging out with you two," Stefan decided.

Caroline glared at him. "You aren't the person I was being passive aggressive towards."

"But you mentioned me-"

"Sh- _ut_ , Stefan!"

Before Keeley could attempt to defend herself (because she really was incredibly bored), the bell over the door of Sundays with Suzie chimed, and Elena Gilbert slunk into the shop. Stefan held some half-hearted notion of hoping she wouldn't notice them, but it seemed she was actively looking for them (or him, more specifically), because she shyly approached their table and grinned weakly.

"Hey, guys," she muttered. "How's it going?"

"Good," Keeley answered, because Caroline was too busy documenting the exchange, so she could gossip about it later. "How are you?"

Elena was staring at Stefan anxiously. "Good. Stefan, can we talk?"

"Um," was all Stefan could think to reply.

Caroline was staring at the ex-couple with rapt attention, interrupted by Keeley, who dragged her up by the arm and to the cash register, desperately chattering on about getting all of them refills.

 _Traitors,_ Stefan thought, but to Elena, he said; "What can I do for you?"

"I miss you." Elena wasted no time. "I miss you- _us_ \- so bad it hurts, and- and I know I said a few weeks ago that we were wrong for each other, but… But I was lying- I think and I-" She sighed. "I miss you."

Well.

That was a lot to take in.

Stefan wasn't quite sure how he felt about Elena Gilbert these days. He knew that some part of him loved her, even if he didn't know what kind of love that was, anymore. But he also knew that he was tired of the emotional rollercoaster. And he was tired of the angst and the fighting and the constant, gothic, Mary Shelly-esque drama. He wanted something _fun._ He wanted to be able to breathe again, and to enjoy whatever bits of life he had left in him.

And, as much as he cared about her, he wasn't sure that Elena could offer that to him.

She seemed to notice the apprehension on his face, because she blurted out; "My dad had a lake house not far from here. He left it to Sidney when he- Whatever. I've been wanting to go to get my mind off of… Well, everything… We should go. You should come with me, that is. It would be a chance for us to talk, and we have that long weekend coming up, so… What do you think?"

 _I think you're going to go there no matter what I say or do, so I might as well go with you, so you don't die, and we can figure out this shit storm of a relationship._

"I think." Stefan stopped, reassessed, and then answered in a level tone; "I think we should go."

* * *

In all the Mikaelson-werewolf-coma craziness, I had forgotten about the Mystic Falls Council.

It was kind of like the PTA, only instead of regulating high schoolers, it regulated vampires (or attempted to, anyway). Damon had strong-armed me into joining with him a few months ago, and I had attended a couple of meetings with him, in the interest of making sure they were still oblivious to what was really going on with the supernatural community in the town. Things had been pretty awkward lately, what with the Council accidentally killing the late Mayor Lockwood, and Sherriff Forbes finding out that her daughter and the Salvatores were all vampires. But for the most part, the Council had remained relatively oblivious to all of the Original vampire business going on.

And now, I was attending the new Mayor Lockwood's tea party.

Predictably, Damon hunted me down the moment I stepped through the doors to the mansion.

"Siddie!" he bellowed, ignoring the raised eyebrows being sent in our direction. "You've got some explaining to do."

I flinched against the corner he had herded me into. "Nope. Nope. No, I don't. I do not."

"Yes, you-" Damon stopped, sighed, ran hands through his hair, and then pinned me with a stare. "Alright, you win. You don't."

My eyebrow rose of its own accord. I bit my lip so hard it hurt, and bridged; "I don't? Where are you going with this?"

Because the Damon Of The Past would have kidnapped me from my bedroom by this point and chained me up somewhere until all of the Originals business was over and done with.

"Look," Damon stated. "I've been watching a lot of _Sex and the City_ lately-"

" _What the fuck?_ "

"-and if there's one thing that I've learned, it's that women don't like it when guys are too pushy." His voice rose as he spoke. "So, I'm going to give you some time. I love you, Siddie. And I want to take care of you- I want you to _believe that I can take care of you._ But I'm not going to force you, because that's what drove you off in the first place.

"So, if you want me to hear you out. If you want me to understand why you're doing this, then meet me at five tomorrow night, where we first got together. I'll be waiting, and if you show up, I'll listen to you, as long as you listen to me."

"Why there?" I asked, because I didn't really know what else to say.

Damon shrugged. "Sentiment?" he offered. "Also, because no one else knows where that is but us, and I don't want any unwelcome visitors while we talk about this."

And so, I considered.

I knew that if I went to that lake, it would be nearly impossible for me to keep from telling Damon the truth. Because I loved him, and I wanted to trust him and believe him- _but my deal with Elijah would end if told absolutely anyone about what I had promised to do._ And so far, that deal was the best option- _the only option_ \- that we had.

And as much as I loved Damon, as much as I considered him a part of my family, my first allegiance was always going to be to Elena. And right now, that meant I had to give that same loyalty to Elijah.

But there had to be a way to make Damon understand that.

Didn't there?

"I'll think about it," I told him. "But- But Damon, you have to understand- I'm…"I choked, glanced around the crowded room, and then down at my shoes. "I'm not doing this- any of this- because I want to hurt you. I just- I _just want my sister to be safe._ "

Damon was staring at me with that same look in his eyes he had given me when I'd saved him from the burning building: the soft, warm, smoldering look that both suffocated and embraced me at the same time. And I nearly melted, would have broken right then, if it weren't for-

Slender, piano-player hands wrapping around my shoulders.

"Damon," Elijah purred. "It's been quite a while. What have you been up to?"

"Fancy seeing you here, Mikaelson," Damon mocked in as insulting a British accent he could muster. Those burning-building eyes had turned into hard, gunmetal and smoke.

"Can I leave now?" I asked, tired to my bones.

"No," they both replied. Neither one looked down at me, too busy glaring at each other.

As the two turned back to their pissing contest, I attempted to extract myself from Elijah's hold. He responded by tightening his grip, and letting the hands glide down my arms until they wrapped around my waist. Damon paused mid-sentence and glared at the hold, nostrils flaring dangerously.

"Kindly get your hands off the love of my life," he commanded steadily.

"Okay, no." I jerked away from Elijah before the situation could escalate further. "Nope. We aren't doing this- I do not put up with clichés." I huffed, bit my lip, glared at the two of them. "Keep the penis joust away from me. I am going home. I'm sure I'll see one of you stalking me or breaking into my house later tonight. Good-damn-day."

And with one last goodbye to Mayor Lockwood (and an apology for spending all of ten minutes at her tea party), I slipped out the door and into my car, heart heavy and mind in a whirl.

* * *

It was beginning to occur to Damon that Sidney might not want to talk things out, after all.

He had shown up to the lake a few minutes early (the first, and only time, he had been early to anything, ever), and now, Sidney was eight minutes late. This, of course, made him nervous in ways he hadn't been for a long time. It had never even crossed his mind that Sidney wouldn't be anything less than fully committed to their relationship. She, and what they had together, were two of the only things he had ever been able to completely rely on. And the idea that those two things could end was unfathomable to him.

Damon had first begun to notice there was something wrong with Sidney when she had been in that God-awful _Dracula_ musical. At first, he had chalked it up to stage fright. But then, he took in the obsessive amount of attention she was paying to Elena's whereabouts, the way she flinched at shadows and tall men in suits, her lack of interest in doing anything that wasn't about stopping Klaus- romantic, fun, sexual, or otherwise.

It took a not-so-coincidental run in with Elijah at The Grille to make Damon realize what was the cause of all of this. Elijah had released a barb along the lines of "even your girlfriend trusts me more than you", and then a lot of things had started to make sense to Damon.

Sidney had made a deal with Elijah.

It had taken a lot of thinking to figure out just what the hell was said to make Sidney trust the Original. But the answer had been a lot simpler than had Damon given it credit for: Sidney didn't think they were strong enough to beat an Original vampire, unless they had another Original vampire on their side.

So now, it was a question of convincing her of their own strength.

There was a rustle from the direction of the trail, and when Damon turned, there Sidney stood, looking like a forlorn shadow of her usual self. Her head hung low, like a queen burdened with a crown far too heavy for her. Her flannel and jeans sagged over a body that hadn't eaten much in the past few weeks, and her once-healthy, bouncy, shiny chestnut waves hung limply around her shoulders. Those green eyes he adored lacked their usual fire, surrounded by circles too dark to ignore, and the freckles he loved to kiss were too striking against deathly-pale skin.

Sidney shrugged at him, defeated by a conversation that hadn't even occurred yet. "I'm here." She paused, thought, then nodded. "I'm here."

"I can see that," Damon joked lamely, and then when it didn't work, he tried a different tactic. "So, what did Elijah tell you to make you believe he was more capable of protecting you and Elena than we are?"

Sidney shifted in that uncomfortable way of hers: hands in her pockets, lower lip between her teeth. "He told me a lot of things," she confessed. "But mostly, he just… proved himself, I guess? That he's strong- really, _really damn strong,_ Damon. And I don't-" She swallowed. "Klaus is even stronger than he is. Three of us were barely enough to keep Elijah down for a few hours. There's no way- The- I can't think of any- We aren't strong enough to do this without Elijah!"

That shouldn't have hurt Damon, but it did. "Anything else?" he asked. "Because you have a tendency to try and fight things that are a hell of a lot more powerful than you- I would know."

"Yeah, but Elijah has one thing that I don't!" Sidney cried. Her hands twitched nervously to the stake in her back pocket.

"And what's that?" Damon demanded.

"A plan," Sidney spat. "He has a plan- a damn good one. And I may not- He may not have told me everything, but he's told me enough of it for me to understand that- That this is the best shot we've got, and even if it means I- I have to…"

She stopped, and something like pure dread flooded Damon to the point where he could barely stand anymore.

"Even if it means you have to _what,_ Siddie?" he pressed quietly, that edge-of-the-knife, skydiving feeling in his chest.

Before Sidney even answered, he knew. She hadn't been taking pictures lately, hadn't been playing soccer, hadn't been working toward graduating- _Like she had given up on her life._

"It doesn't matter."

" _Yes,_ it _does_!"

Sidney was at the end of her rope. Her hands flew to her hair, and she screamed; "Why does it matter?"

" _Because I love you_!" Damon bellowed back. "Because _I_ love you, and _Stefan_ loves you, and even though she's not acting like it right now, _Elena really fucking loves you._ And that means that you do not get to _throw your life away_ on a deal made with a man we can't fucking trust!"

"It's my life," Sidney breathed. "It's my life, and if I want to sacrifice it for someone I love, then yes, I do get to make that choice."

Damon wanted to- to grab her, hold her close to him. Make her stop talking, make her stop trying to barter with what had to be the most important thing in the world. Because the world _did not exist without Sidney Gilbert in it._ No, not any more. And even if she hated him, she would be safe, and she would be alive, and she would be _with him._

"Not if there's another way," he thought out loud. "Not if we can find a way to save Elena that doesn't somehow involve you dying instead."

"But what if we can't?" Sidney whispered. "What if there's not enough time to even begin looking?"

 _Then I will let Elena die,_ Damon decided furiously. _I would let the world burn to ashes if it meant you were still alive and well._

Instead, he said; "But there is enough time- We've always found a loophole, and we'll find one now. You don't have to die for this, and neither does Elena."

Sidney's face was screwed up in that thoughtful, painful way of hers, freckles lifting and rearranging on her face. "And what if we can't?"

"You can't think like that, Siddie," Damon spat. "You cannot stop believing in our ability to get through this, because the minute you- _you most of all-_ give up, we're fucked. We've got good people behind us, Siddie- the best people I've met in a long time. _You_ are the best person I've met in a long time. And as for Elijah? How do you know? How do you know he isn't just working for Klaus and messing with your head to try and throw you off your game? How do you know he won't betray you?"

"I-" She began. "I don't-"

"Exactly," Damon insisted, unwilling to give up the first progress he had made. "You don't. How much of his plan has he told you?"

Sidney was obviously reluctant, but he wouldn't let her back out of this one.

C _ome on. Just a little. Just give me a little. If you give me an inch I will take a mile._

"Not… Not all of it."

 _Good girl._

"That doesn't sound like something a person you could trust would do."

"No! No, it doesn't! But- but this isn't a _normal situation,_ Damon!" Sidney barked, stumbling over herself in ways she hadn't since the first few months they had known each other for. "And he hasn't told me everything specifically because he knew you would try to do exactly what you're doing right now- _and I hate it_! Stop- stop making me doubt-!"

She stopped, face screwed up angrily. The rare, salty scent of her tears assaulted him. Before Damon knew it, his arms were around her, sheltering her the same way he wished he could all the time.

"Please just let me- let _us_ protect you," he whispered into the coffee and lavender locks. "You spend all your time looking after us; let us look after you for once."

Sidney didn't say anything. She nodded, but Damon wasn't kidding himself into believing she was agreeing to anything. That would have to be enough for now, though. He'd made progress, and hopefully he wouldn't be locking her into the Boarding House's cell anytime soon, but if worse came to worse…

If worse came to worse, Sidney Gilbert was going to stay alive no matter what Damon had to do to make it happen.

He held onto her for as long as she would let him. And though it was nearly an hour, he wanted to cling to her for longer- wanted to never, ever let go.

Eventually though, with a sniff and a guilty, watery smile, Sidney pulled away. Damon's hands clung stubbornly to her arms, wrinkling her flannel. He felt those same arms shiver. When he looked up, the sun had set, and a fog the likes of which he used to conjure "for dramatic effect" had settled over the lake.

"Boarding House," he decided, and Sidney nodded, even though it hadn't been a question.

Damon's car was his favorite place in the world. Since 1969, his Chevy Camaro convertible (nicknamed "Betty", after the first woman he had taken in the backseat) had been the only thing he could rely on. He thought of Betty as more of a home than the Boarding House, and much like a dragon hoarding treasures in its cave, Damon preferred Sidney wrapped up in his leather jacket, curled up in the passenger seat of his car.

Part of him wanted to just. Keep. Driving.

But that would be kidnapping, and he'd already, _technically,_ kidnapped her. And, even though it was that kidnapping that had strengthened their then-budding-friendship, he doubted a repeat performance would go over well with Sidney. So, kidnapping was the last resort.

For now, at least.

Damon shouldn't have been surprised that Elijah was waiting for them when they pulled up to the Boarding House. He really, really shouldn't have. Because Elijah had this- this _hold_ on Sidney. The kind of hold that Damon used to have over Sidney, and Caroline, and Betty, and all the other girls before them. But it was different when it was someone else doing it to _his_ girlfriend; a real, living, breathing person with fire in her eyes, and this hitch in her voice when she talked about all the beautiful sights she wanted to see, and this quirk in her lips when she got turned on. And dammit, that person didn't deserve to be controlled like this.

Sidney sat up in the passenger side, sleep in her eyes. They widened when they landed on Elijah. She flinched and moved to step out of the car.

"Don't," Damon found himself growling. "Stay here. I'll handle this."

"Damon-" she tried to warn.

"I don't want him messing with your head right now."

"What? So you can?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely. Stay here," Damon commanded, and then he was out of the car.

Elijah's mouth sneered with the kind of disgust Damon usually only reserved for people like Mason Lockwood and Katherine Pierce. Damon felt a kind of sick satisfaction that he registered with Elijah as the same kind of threat. But Elijah's eyes flickered from him to track Sidney, who was, of course, disobeying Damon and getting out of the car.

"Why are you here?" Sidney asked quietly.

Damon didn't like the hunger in the set of Elijah's shoulders- mostly because he recognized it as the same kind of hunger he constantly felt around Sidney. And Damon was the only person allowed to feel that kind of hunger for Sidney.

Elijah spoke; "Your group's little werewolf-"

"His name is Tyler," Sidney interrupted, and Damon was glad to see she hadn't lost her spunk yet. "And he's not a part of our group- not after what he did."

"Or didn't do, rather," Damon chimed in. Tyler's betrayal of Blondie and Alaric's daughter still rankled with all of them.

"No matter," Elijah dismissed. "The same wolves I sent my witch to dispatch for him are on their way here to seek revenge- on you two. I'm sure you understand why I can't let that happen, don't you, Sidney?"

And Sidney took a step back.

That one little movement angered Damon in a way he hadn't felt in a long while.

Because the Sidney Gilbert he knew didn't back away from anything.

"Yeah," she answered. "Yeah- yeah I do. Thanks for being here."

"We don't need you," Damon said.

"Shut up, Damon," Sidney said.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "I recommend both of you going inside," he told them. "I will handle this quickly."

"Actually, seeing as this is my house," Damon corrected, "I'll stay out here with you. You look like you could use the help."

Elijah snorted. "Clearly, you haven't paid much attention during our last encounters."

Damon bit back the retort that wanted to bubble up and rip Elijah's throat out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sidney lingering behind them on the porch. She dropped Damon's jacket onto the swing-bench and pulled a small hand pistol out of her back pocket. He was peeved she was putting herself in the line of fire again, but mostly, he was proud of her for disobeying Elijah.

Before too long, glowing, red eyes blinked out at them from the darkness of the tree line. The wolves slunk out of the depths, teeth and ambitions bared. They recoiled when they saw Elijah. The Alpha of the group turned human.

"Beat it, Mikaelson," she snarled, red hair barely concealing her naked breasts. "This isn't about you."

If there was a way to make his voice sound like it was rolling its eyes, Elijah succeeded in doing so. "I would beg to differ. Unfortunately, I am tasked with the job of protecting these two. You understand why I can't let you get revenge on them."

The werewolf snarled, lunged, and then her red hair was overshadowed by the dark scarlet of her blood, where it wept out of her decapitated head. Before Damon could blink, more heads rolled. The wolves retreated in a flurry of yelps and whimpers, and Elijah turned to them with a smirk and nary a splotch on his three-piece-suit.

He gave a mocking bow. "Have a pleasant evening," he told them, then tipped his head at Sidney, whose arms cradled her chest and stomach. "Sidney. I'll be tracking you down later."

With Elijah gone, Damon resisted the urge to turn on Sidney. But the anger from the encounter still boiled in him: all that jealousy, possessiveness, _darkness_ that he tried so hard to deny around her was boiling in his stomach. Before he could stop it, he asked; "So, do you care about him?"

Sidney's expression was the purest form of confusion and discomfort that Damon had seen in nearly a century. "What- who? Elijah? No- _God,_ no!" Something on Damon's face prompted her to word-vomit; "And I want to trust- really, I do want to trust you! I want to trust that you and Stefan and all of our friends will be able to get us through this, but Elijah-"

She was crying again. Damon hated it. She swallowed deeply. "Elijah is _so strong._ And Damon- Damon I am _not_ fearless. I pretend like I am because someone has to be, but I'm _not. And something stronger than Elijah terrifies me."_

Damon was up the stairs and looming over her before he had a conscious thought. His next words weren't planned: "You've been able to trust me before this. Why don't you trust me now?"

"I do trust you," she tried to insist. "I never _stopped_ trusting you-"

" _Prove it_."

* * *

Elena and Stefan were gone, Damon was holding me emotionally hostage, and I had a feeling that I was going to be staying at the Boarding House for a damn long while. Damon had just barely agreed to let me head home and tell Jenna about the sleep over, as well as grab my toothbrush, camera, and some clothes. Opening the door to Elijah, surveying my wall of Polaroids, was no surprise.

"You've talent," he decided. "Perhaps you should pursue photography once this is all over."

That sent a pang into my chest (one I knew Elijah had wanted to put there). I snorted. "I won't be alive once this is all over," I reminded him quietly.

He chuckled softly and turned to stare me down, hands still in his pockets. "No, you will be, because according to your 'boyfriend', our deal no longer exists."

I froze. I was an idiot to have thought that he wouldn't find out what had been said between Damon and I earlier that day.

Rather than go through screaming and crying and yelling all over again, I cut the shit the way I had been wanting to all this time, and said; "I don't know if it does anymore, Elijah."

He cocked his head, false confusion in his face. I felt myself lean away from him as he got closer to me.

"See, what you fail to grasp," Elijah whispered dangerously, "is that making a deal with me is not dissimilar to making a deal with the devil. There are painfully few ways to get out of one. Your 'epic love' refusing to give his permission won't save your save your soul now, Sidney Gilbert. You are in far, far too deep."

Ice crept up my spine, but it wasn't nearly as cold as Elijah was.

"Okay," I agreed. "Okay- you're right. I made a promise to you because you have a plan, and I don't. But- but you have to understand…"

Damon's words against Elijah rang in my ears.

"Things would just be a lot easier," I waffled, "if I knew all of the details of that plan. Like how I'm going to take Elena's place, and- and what the sacrifice is even _for_ \- Why does Klaus want to break the Curse at all?"

It just didn't make sense. I knew that the Originals were immune to the burns the sun caused most other vampires, and Elijah certainly held no love for werewolves. So why would Klaus care if the sun and moon controlled all the other supernatural creatures? And why would Elena's life be the sacrifice needed to break it?

Elijah was still staring at me. He was so close- too close- to me. I wanted to be with Damon again. At least Damon's manipulations didn't scare me. At least I was used to him manipulating me. At least I knew he didn't want to hurt me.

I didn't know anything about Elijah.

"Alright," he decided. "I'll tell you."

And he did.

Klaus Mikaelson was the bastard son of Esther and Mikael, Vikings who had come to pre-colonial North America (Mystic Falls, more specifically) in search of a better life for them and their future children. While there, Esther had an affair with one of the tribesmen who lived in the area- tribesmen who just so happened to be werewolves. Klaus was the bastard product of that affair.

One thing lead to another, and Klaus and Elijah were fully grown, fighting over a woman named Tatia: the first woman to lay claim to my sister's face. Mikael, feeling endangered by the world surrounding his family, pressured Esther, an incredibly powerful witch, to perform a spell that would keep his family alive and well- forever. They would become the Original Vampires, and Tatia's blood- now, Elena's blood- had been the sacrifice used to bind them to immortality, and to time itself.

Klaus was a hybrid: half-werewolf, half-vampire, all monster. And to unlock the werewolf side of himself and gain a power more terrifying than anything the world had seen before, he needed to perform a three-way sacrifice.

One vampire had to die. One werewolf had to die. And one doppelgänger had to die.

But if Elena and I both drank from a certain potion within a certain amount of time, my life would be exchanged for hers if she was killed.

Elijah stood over me where I sat on my bed. He knew just as well as I did that his cards were a much better hand than Damon's. And as much as I didn't want to die, I knew that no matter what, Elena had to live.

"I'll leave you to it," he flouted. "But Sidney? A reminder."

I hummed vaguely at him. He moved to my open window.

"I don't take kindly to those who betray me."

* * *

 **A/N: So, wow! This came out more than a month earlier than it was supposed to! Yay, me! I believe this can be attributed to one very important factor: I made the executive decision that this story and a few of its characters (Sidney, Keeley, Damon) are genuinely good. And I love them. And I want them to exist in a medium outside of this one. So, after this series is over, I will be rewriting it as an original series with a very different storyline, but with the same feel. And I'm going to try and get it published. I'm excited, and I hope you are, too. But we've still got a lot of work to do. So, if you liked this chapter (or even if you didn't like it), please leave a review!**

 _ **Next time:**_ _With her Uncle John resurfacing, and a deal with the devil hanging over her head, Sidney is forced to pick a side at the dinner party from Hell._


	12. Prove It

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 12: Prove It**

When I was around thirteen years old, Elena and I made lists of what we wanted our future husbands to be like.

Elena was all about the Byronian anti-hero; dark hair, tragic backstories- bad boys, in layman's terms. She wanted the mohawk and the motorcycle and the mommy issues, but mostly, I just thought she wanted someone to be the Danny Zuko to her Sandra Dee.

I was more the Prince Charming type. Muscled guys with swords and boyish grins were my thing back then, and I wanted the white horse and the equally white wedding. I wanted to hold hands in movie theaters and have him become best friends with my parents. I wanted a Westley to my Buttercup.

(Funny how the tables had turned, wasn't it?)

The past few days with Damon had felt like I was living in that list all over again.

There was sex, tons of it. We spent a lot of time in the kitchen, making our own cocktails- most of which tasted disgusting, but still. Damon agreed to sit for photoshoots, and I earned a few more portraits for my portfolio. And we planned how we were going to get rid of Elijah.

The weekend alone was exactly what we needed to get our heads screwed back on straight, and we both got back into the people we used to be before we found out about the Originals. The jokes, the banter, the comfort, it all came back.

I felt stronger. I felt like myself again.

My hands still shook when I walked into the Grille on Monday night, though.

I was supposed to be meeting Damon there (and eventually Elijah, Alaric, my Uncle John, and all the other adult-like-people in our life) after school so we could put Operation End Elijah in action. But before that, my old friends had agreed to meet with me.

I hadn't talked to Sutter McCreevey, Madison Crull, Angelica Rivera, Colin Frederikson, or Corbin Baker in what felt like months. The girls and I had been on the soccer team together, with me as the captain, up until my first stay in the hospital in early February. My injuries had strong-armed me into dropping the sport, and I hadn't talked to any of them since they pushed me to finally submit my application to NYU three weeks ago. Colin and Corbin tended to follow the girls' soccer team around, and as such, hadn't interacted with me much outside of classes, either. To them, I could only assume it was like I had dropped off the face of the planet since Elijah had come to town.

Killer vampires? Easy. Old friends? Terrifying.

Corbin grinned at me when I approached their table, and I felt some of the weight lift off my shoulders. "Hey, Sid," he crowed, getting out of the booth to hug me. "Long time no see, dude."

I nearly flinched away from him, but held it in and forced a smile. "Yeah, _dude._ It has been. How have you guys been doing?"

No one answered, Madison and Angelica sent nervous glances in Sutter's direction as Corbin ushered me into the seat between him and Colin.

"Awful," Sutter finally answered. "We've lost our first three games. I'm a shit captain, Sid."

I blinked. This was a dramatic change from the Sutter of three weeks ago: If there was anything she valued more than her soccer career, it was her pride. She had wanted my captain spot since I had earned it in the Fall season of year before last. Neither Carson nor I had thought it was the best idea; goalies didn't make great captains. They tended to be a bit full of themselves.

"No, you're not," I said instead. "It just takes some getting used to. I was pretty shit our first season, too, remember?"

"Yeah, but then we went to the play-offs the next season," Madison reminded us. Her mouth was starting to curl up into her slumber-party-lunch-time smile.

I flushed at the reminder and bit my lip. "Yeah, we did." After a few minutes of catching up on who had been accepted to what college and who was nervous about what final, I found myself whispering; "I really missed you guys."

Colin, the only one who had yet to say anything, was also the only one who heard me. And he grinned and nudged my shoulder good-naturedly.

"So, where've you been, Sid?" Corbin drawled around French fries he held in his mouth like walrus tusks.

Something around my abdomen froze. I picked at my onion rings and answered steadily; "A lot… Anastasia and I aren't friends anymore." And suddenly I wanted to throw up again. "Elena and I are fighting, and my Uncle John is back in town, so I've just been… busy and stressed out, I guess?"

Corbin's face was uncharacteristically dark. "The same uncle who got kicked out of town for slapping you?" He asked. At my nod, he shared a glance with Colin before saying; "Let us know if he messes with you again. We'll take care of it."

"Thanks," I said, even though I knew that, more than likely, Uncle John wouldn't be walking out of town with his head still on his shoulders. The list to kill him was a long one, and Damon and I were at the front of it.

When dinner was over, and our homework was more or less finished, Colin wrangled Angelica and Madison into his hatchback and drove them home, with promises for all of us to text in the group chat and see each other in classes the next morning. Corbin kissed me on the cheek and offered Sutter a ride, which she turned down, still bitter over their break up earlier that year. Corbin drove off, and I sat with Sutter on one of the benches in the green area of town square, waiting for her twin brother to show up and take her home.

"How are you and Damon?" she asked raising her eyebrows pointedly at the hickey left on the side of my neck.

I flushed and unintentionally covered it with my hand, shifting my weight. "Good," I answered, trying not to think of Elijah's hands sliding from my shoulders to my waist and the promises Damon had mouthed into my skin two nights ago. "I mean, he was a little possessive not so long ago, because I had just gotten out of the hospital and one of Jenna's friends was getting a little touchy feely-"

"And Mason Lockwood?" Sutter prompted, all too familiar with the dead werewolf's impact on my life.

"And Mason Lockwood," I admitted. "But we're good now. I think."

Sutter scoffed. "Thinking isn't knowing. If you aren't happy with Damon, you should leave him."

"Oh, my God, no," I heard myself insisting, my entire body frozen at the suggestion. "No, no, no. I love him- I love him so much that I- I want to be with him for… Forever. I want to spend the rest of my life with him." More shock. I had to repeat: "I want to spend the rest of my life with Damon Salvatore."

And that was the truth. I wanted to be with him always. I couldn't think of a world without him anymore.

And suddenly, I felt safer than I had in months.

Sutter was on her way home within the next five minutes, and when I coasted back into the Grille, Damon was there waiting for me. There was a pleasant rush of warmth in my chest at the sight of him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, stood on my tip toes, and planted my lips against his, sighing into the kiss in ways I hadn't remembered doing before.

He cleared his throat, smirking, when we separated. "As much as I appreciate the enthusiastic greeting," he began, eyebrows waggling, "we've got an audience, Siddie."

Keeley stood at the bar behind him, brows raised and hands in the pockets of her apron, while Alaric sat on the stool closest to us, expression hidden by the glass of dark beer he tipped into his mouth. Elijah was next to him, perfectly pressed as ever. Electricity sizzled in my veins at the way he stared at me, and I felt the need to yank at his collar and mess it up, just to fuck with his mind. Jenna was caught between Alaric, whose free hand she held, and my Uncle John.

He glared at me. "Sidney," he gritted out through his teeth, "I see you're still holding onto your parasite."

Jenna tensed and keep her from snapping, I replied, "Parasite, he is not. You, however, are still technically a domestic abuser. Why the hell are you here, John?"

I wanted to punch the smile off his face. He cocked his head in Keeley's direction, who froze and sent me a guilty look.

"The mouthy girl called me," John drawled. "And I'd appreciate an honorific of some sort."

"People who slap other people in the face don't get honorifics," I seethed. Damon's hand wrapped around a fist I hadn't even realized I was clenching.

"Stefan made me do it," Keeley word-vomited. "We were trying to call my mom and he answered."

"Keels, what the hell?" Alaric demanded at the same time I said; "I know. Stefan told me."

Keeley relaxed toward me, away from her dad, who looked about one beer away from going ape-shit on John.

Elijah seemed confused. "What's this about him slapping you in the face?"

"Long story," I muttered, trying to ignore the laser beams zooming out of Damon's eyes.

I stepped lightly on his foot and he jumped, glanced at me, realized, and then looked back at our audience.

"I'm actually glad all of you are here," he lied, evidence by the way his nails dug slightly into my arm. "I wanted to invite all of you to a grownups-only dinner party at the Boarding House tomorrow, while my brother is still out of town. I'm afraid I've spent a bit too much time around his friends lately. It might be nice to have some acquaintances closer to my own age."

Alaric nodded gravely. Keeley looked like she was about to choke on the amount of bullshit in the air, and John and Elijah were just as suspicious as they usually were. (Or were their faces just naturally like that?) But Jenna was smiling.

"Sounds great!" she bubbled. "Sidney and I can bake something, and it'll be a great way for Mr. Mikaelson to meet some other citizens of Mystic Falls. When would it be?"

Elijah gave a pinched smile, but Damon seized the opportunity and began to rattle off the details, hand finally leaving my arm. I went through the rest of the encounter in a daze, listening half heartedly to the pleasantries and niceties, and then the hand was back on my arm again, and I was waving to Jenna and Keeley, and Damon lead me out of the Grille and into his car.

Elijah's eyes tracked me the entire time, seeking, knowing. I couldn't help the shudder that ran down my spine, or the way my shoulders drooped with relief once I was out of his eyesight.

Damon sent me a worried glance where I draped myself across his passenger seat. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

My nose scrunched. I bit my lip and shrugged. "Okay," I decided. "I mean, that's not my favorite combination of people. And I don't exactly enjoy plotting to kill people."

"Even when those people are vampires?"

"Even when those people are vampires."

Damon pulled up to a stoplight, looked at me, grinned, and then opened his jacket and pulled out a tarnished, silver dagger.

"So, you gonna kill me with that, or…?" I half-joked, mouth a little dry.

He chuckled and shook his head, tossing it into the backseat as the light turned green. "That was a bad joke, Siddie," he chided. "And no. Duh. That's what we're going to kill Elijah with. Your Uncle John gave it to me. Apparently, it's the only reason he came back to town."

"And to kill you, probably," I offered, that roiling, this-is-going-to-go-wrong-somehow feeling in my stomach. "Don't forget about him wanting to kill you."

"Well, that, too, obviously," Damon conceded.

I tried to force a smile. It curled, limp and unpleasant, on the edges of my mouth. "Obviously."

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, Damon's spot next to me in his bed was cold and empty. This wasn't new. He was a morning person, believe it or not, and usually already had a full pot of coffee brewed and ready for me downstairs by the time I woke up. The coffee was there. Damon wasn't.

I tried not to let it bother me that had he had left without telling me. Tried not to wonder where he was as I down three cups of caffeine and a slice of toast that tasted like cardboard in my mouth.

School was incredibly more tolerable now that I was talking to my friends again. It didn't hurt as much to see Anastasia in the computer lab or the lunchroom when I had Angelica trying to French braid my hair and Sutter glaring daggers at my ex- best friend anytime she so much as sneezed in our direction. Corbin's half-hearted attempts at flirting made me smile despite myself, though I pretended not to notice the lingering glances he sent at Keeley, or the way his eyebrows pinched when he saw her talking to Matt Donovan.

Damon was back at the Boarding House when I stopped by to get ready for our dinner party from Hell. He wore a suit and a grin, and the combination served to make me vaguely unsettled.

"You look very happy for someone planning murder," I informed him, sourly brushing away the wet smooch he planted on my cheek. "Should I be worried about possible psychopath-y?"

Predictably, the eyebrow went up. "No. I forget, are you taking Psychology right now? Stop. Don't answer. I hate everything about high school- except you. I talked with Katherine today."

The scar on my stomach itched. The back of my mouth burned. My hand twitched toward the stake in my back pocket.

"Why the hell would you do something like that?"

Damon shrugged. "Comfort," he responded, an honesty in his voice I wasn't used to hearing when he talked about Katherine. "I hate to admit it, but she knows more about the Mikaelsons than we do- And that's your thing right now, isn't it? Knowing more about what's going on?"

I felt my mouth form a sneer. "Please don't twist my words," I begged quietly. "Not when it comes to Katherine, alright?"

Another shrug. "She thinks it's a good plan. Especially when I told her about the dagger."

"Now I kind of want to set the plan on fire."

"Sometimes I forget how much you hate her," Damon conceded, chuckling. His thumbs rubbed soothing patterns on the back of my hand.

"She hurt you," I spat. "No one gets to hurt you."

Damon shrugged for the third time, and I changed my mind. I was the only person who got to hurt him- and only a little bit, when he decided to be especially asshole-ish, like right now. So, I swatted his shoulder and scowled petulantly, frowning even harder when he laughed and slapped me on the ass.

"Go change, please," he told me, and so I scurried up the stairs to change, grumbling curses under my breath the whole way.

He had murder in his eyes when I walked back down the stairs, tugging irritably at the straight neckline of my dress. An actual growl made its way out of his mouth. I glared at him before I realized this was a good opportunity for some revenge for the general bullshit he made me put up with. So, I grinned and gave a mocking twirl.

"You like?" I pressed.

"Yes," Damon replied stiffly. "A little too much. Elijah will like it, too."

I feigned innocence and sucked my lower lip between my teeth. "I thought you wanted him distracted."

"The dress is red."

"So, it is."

"And tight."

"You like them tight."

" _Too tight._ "

"Tough."

"I'm about to rip it off you."

"Wouldn't that ruin your plan?"

"How are you supposed to slay vampires in that thing?"

"I've had a lot of practice slaying vampires in impractical clothing."

" _Are you even wearing underwear?_ "

"I don't know. Am I?"

Before Damon could pounce, the front door swung open and Keeley's cheerful voice yodeled out; "Honey, we're home!"

I rolled my eyes but grinned as she entered, followed by Alaric, who had an expression of pained amusement on his face and a crockpot in his arms.

"We made chicken marsala," Keeley informed me.

I nodded at her and took the crockpot from Alaric, who immediately rounded on Damon. The two men began to talk in harried, hushed tones as I lead Keeley into the kitchen, where a takeout tray of pasta from the local Italian joint sat, keeping warm in the oven.

I set the crockpot on the counter, and Keeley's eyes bugged out even larger than they had been before. She whistled and tugged at her own dress nervously.

"You look hot," she spluttered in that blatant way of hers. "Like, really, really hot."

"I know," I told her, because I did, and that was kind of the point.

The whole bug-eyed thing turned into a bit of a trend. Jenna and John were equally as gob-smacked as Keeley when they arrived together, Jenna torn between annoyance at John's presence and pride in me. John called me a "parasite's prostitute" under his breath, and he glowered when I chuckled and thanked him. And when I opened the door to let Elijah in, he looked honestly thrown for the first time since I had known him.

He straightened himself quickly and handed me a bottle of very-expensive looking wine. "Sidney. You look beautiful."

"Thanks," I said through a mouth filled with cotton, shoulders bare and trembling. "For the wine, too."

"I've had it since the twenties," he answered stiffly, eyes still fixed on my throat.

"Eighteen or nineteen?"

"Nineteen."

"Right. Um, you can come in," I informed him, and Elijah puffed his chest out, turned his mouth into a smile, and followed me into the Boarding House.

The joy on Jenna's face when she saw Elijah made me flinch, and it was only Damon's hand rubbing circles on my lower back that kept me from spiraling into a full panic attack. John's eyes tracked Damon's fingers as they made rhythmic circles on my skin through the fabric of my dress. I felt Damon tense and let his hand slip lower and lower, and I turned and smacked him with a scowl, much to Alaric's amusement, who snorted into his newly-poured glass of wine.

I had been at awkward dinner parties before.

There was an abundance of them in Mystic Falls, and my parents used to host a good chunk of them when they were still- you know- alive. The most awkward one I could remember was just after Mason had left me, two years ago, and mom had the Lockwoods over. Now-Mayor Lockwood had kept jibing at my mom to hand over Miss Mystic Falls chairmanship, while Then-Mayor Lockwood kept making uncomfortable eye contact with me from over the table. (He had walked in on Mason and me a few too many times.) And the entire night, Dad and I were both fighting the urge to punch Tyler's lights out, since that was around the time he and Matt were competing over everything, included but not limited to Elena.

But, somehow, this topped all of that.

Jenna, the only one of us oblivious to the tension in the air, grinned and she sipped tiny mouthfuls of wine. "This is amazing," she told Elijah, who responded with a pained grimace. "What brand is it?"

"One that no longer exists, I'm afraid. They went underground during Prohibition and never resurfaced. A pity, as I've found this particular company is my favorite. Finding bottles is a challenge, but one I'm very happy to undertake," Elijah answered.

"I'm more of a boxed wine connoisseur myself," Jenna joked.

Keeley and I laughed, both of us forced. Hers, though, went on for half a second too long. She wilted under Alaric's raised brow.

Damon chuckled a moment too late for it to not be unsettling. It didn't matter. Everyone but Jenna knew the real reason we were here, and she already thought he was a weirdo.

"Why don't we move this into the dining room?" he suggested, looking every inch the Southern gentleman he used to be.

As we filed into the rarely-used dinette, I found myself reflecting that this all felt a little too _Clue the Movie_ for me. Damon was Wadsworth, definitely, which meant that I was either Yvette or Miss Scarlet. I hoped Miss Scarlet. I'd prefer the pimp over the prostitute, thank you very much. Though, as Elijah pulled my seat out for me, I realized that Damon had done a pretty good job at whoring me out tonight.

Uncle John was watching Elijah and me with a little too much focus.

"How do you two know each other?" he asked pointedly.

I bit back a scowl, replacing it with a toothy grin. "He's been over at the house a lot. Visiting Jenna."

Jenna and Alaric choked on their wine at the same time. But John, who I knew had a thing for my aunt, sunk back into his seat like a shadow with burning eyes. Elijah coughed next to me, angling his legs until our thighs brushed. I stiffened.

"Your niece is quite the conversationalist," he hummed. "I've enjoyed our spars, both verbal and physical."

"Verbal!" I spat. " _Just_ verbal."

Because, yes, I had actually, physically fought Elijah before, but that was mostly just me shooting at him, and besides, Jenna didn't need to know about that. And she definitely didn't need to think that Elijah and I were having sex. And seriously, _dude, what the fuck? Not cool! I had a boyfriend!_

"I taught her everything she knows," John growled.

"No, you didn't," Alaric and I said at the same time, because Carson had, and I wasn't going to let anyone claim otherwise.

Keeley and Jenna's heads bobbed back and forth like they were watching a tennis match. I felt for them, but not as much as I felt for myself. God, what was it with the men in my life talking about me like that?

"So, Elijah," I sputtered, overly eager. "The history thing? What exactly is that? How's it going?"

As Elijah stared me down, Damon bumped into the dining room, hands full with the tray of chicken marsala, which he plopped onto the table.

"Dig in," he instructed us, sliding into the open seat next to me.

"It goes well," Elijah began. His eyes still bored into me as I spooned pasta onto my plate. "And I'm writing a book about the history of your town. Are you familiar with it?"

I shrugged, tracing a pattern onto my plate with the tines of my fork. Although I hadn't eaten anything but a doughnut that day, I found myself without an appetite.

"Yes," I finally answered. "Overly familiar, actually. History is my favorite subject, and Damon"- he winked at me over the rim of his wine glass- "is a pretty big history buff, himself. But you should probably talk to Al- _Mr. Saltzman._ Since he's a history teacher, and all."

Not my history teacher. To me, he was just my boyfriend's best friend. But God knew I didn't need Jenna thinking I was overly-friendly with a teacher on top of everything else.

Taking the cue, Alaric nodded, swallowed, and began to prattle on about the Civil War and the burning of Fell's church. I felt Damon stiffen next to me at that, but it was Elijah's hand on my thigh that made me jump. From the kitchen, I heard the muffled sound of _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ , my ringtone. I let it keep going, lifting my leg as far as I could in my dress and shaking off Elijah's hand. He let it fall back into his own lap before turning back to face me.

"Well, Sidney?" he asked in that crisp accent. "Would you be game?"

I frowned. "Sorry, for what?"

"Pictures. To take pictures for my novel. You're an aspiring photographer, yes?"

My blood ran cold. _"You've talent. Perhaps you should pursue photography once this is all over."_

It was a warning. I needed to choose my next words very carefully.

The others were involved in a conversation about football or something, but Damon and Alaric were staring at me, neither one aware of the consequences of what I had just been asked. I shifted, uncomfortable under the weight of their gaze, and Elijah, whose brow raised challengingly.

"I'll see," I finally decided. "Because I'll be a bit busy- with graduating and all."

Elijah sank back with a huff, eyes still burning and smile like a loaded gun. "Understandable," he said shortly.

 _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ was playing from the kitchen, again. This was the third time I had heard it, now. I needed air desperately.

"I'm gonna go see who that is," I announced to no one in particular.

As I escaped into the kitchen, I tried fiercely not to think of the several pairs of eyes tracking me out the room.

I gulped down tomato-scented air, glad to be away from the scrutiny for a few, short minutes. As I strode over to where my phone sat on the island, I saw the tail-end of Elena's name and contact picture flicker away. I dove for the phone, intent on calling her back and talking to her for the first time in what felt like ages. Suddenly, I received another call from her, the fourth in a row.

"Hello?" I gasped into the phone. "Elena?"

" _Sid!"_ she cried. _"Don't talk, okay? Just listen- this- this is kind of an emergency! Did Uncle John give Damon a dagger?"_

"Yes," I replied, automatically guarded.

" _I said don't talk! Listen, whatever you do-_ don't let Damon use that dagger _! Got it? It kills vampires if they use it!_ Don't let Damon use it! _"_

"Okay!" I cried back. "Okay, I won't. But Elena, are you safe? Is Stefan still there with you?"

" _Yes and yes. And Sidney?"_ she began, thick-voiced. " _I do love you. And I appreciate you. Alright?"_

I blinked rapidly. The panic that had been building in my chest faded for just a moment. "Alright. I love you too."

Elena hung up. From behind me, Elijah said; "What's this about a dagger?" and the panic came back full force.

 _Fucking vampire hearing._

"'Fucking vampire hearing', indeed," Elijah repeated wryly.

 _Oh, shit. I said that out loud._ "John gave Damon a dagger," I told him quickly. "He was going to use it on Klaus, if he needed to. That's all."

Elijah gave the purest snort of derisive disgust I had ever heard and shot back; "Don't insult my intelligence, Sidney. We both know full well who he's planning on using that dagger on."

 _Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit fUCKING SHIT-_

"Elijah-"

"If you could kindly shut up?"

I closed my mouth with a clack.

"Thank you." Elijah's hands drifted into his pockets, and he began approaching me. I felt myself stumble back a step with each one that he took. "Now, on to business. I feel I should warn you what will happen if you go back on our deal, Sidney."

"What?" I croaked. That panic in my chest had turned into a beating drum, banging so loud I was sure it would break through muscle and bone and skin.

Elijah grinned a smile sharp as the edge of an executioner's axe. "Niklaus must be stopped, no matter what the cost. I'm sure you can understand that. If you back out now, I will take matters into my own hands. Elena will disappear, and you will see neither me nor her ever again."

Suddenly, the roaring in my ears quieted to nothing. From the dining room, I could hear muted, polite voices, and silverware scraping against plates. The fridge rumbled and the clock on the wall ticked. Outside, the first crickets of the season chirped. And everything, everything was so clear to me.

So, I said; "Yeah, I've got it, Elijah."

The kitchen door swung open. Damon strolled through it, hands in his pockets, far more casual than anyone had any right to be in our situation. He smirked a dangerous smirk and raised his brows challengingly.

"What have you two been talking about?" he chirped.

I stayed quiet under Elijah's watch, but he replied rigidly; "Nothing that's any of your business, I'm sure."

Damon gave a humorless chuckle. "You know, I'm getting pretty damn tired of you saying that kind of thing to me, Elijah," he drawled. "Because Sidney"- a finger pointed in my direction- "and everything about her is my business. So, you need to back the fuck off."

Elijah smiled widely. "Or what?"

Damon shrugged, and then the dagger was out of his pocket and flying toward Elijah's chest. Elijah stood there, still smiling-

Knowing that I would stop the dagger just in time.

"Sidney, what the fuck?" Damon hissed, twisting his wrist out of my grasp.

"You can't do it, Damon," I gasped, lunging for the dagger once again. "Just trust me. _You can't._ "

I wrested the dagger away from him and cradled it to my chest, shaking harder than I had the night I found out these two men belonged to a breed of monster. Because this couldn't happen. Not here, not now, not like this.

Elijah guffawed and gave me a pat on the back that felt like the lash of a whip. "Good girl." He lifted a side of his mouth up at Damon, who looked the most murderous I had ever seen him, and cocked his head back in the direction of the dining room. "Shall we then?"

And what else could I do but follow him back into the fray?

* * *

Dinner and desert passed in a tense mockery of social graces. Damon wouldn't stop glaring at anything and everything. Elijah kept making these comments about me that made it seem like we were far more familiar than we actually were, and his side was a burning weight, crushed up against me. The pit in the bottom of my stomach kept me from talking all that much, but I thought, hard and heavy, about the dagger tucked into my bra.

At the tail end of it, Keeley rose and helped Damon clear the table, in a flimsy attempt to get out of the anger-filled room. Alaric and John were locked in what looked like a furious argument over Jenna, who sprung to her feet and charged into the kitchen, muttering about helping Keeley and Damon.

Elijah turned to me.

"You made the right decision," he informed me. "I'm the only one who can protect you and Elena. You must believe me."

"I'm trying," I whispered back, hands shaking. Robotically, I felt myself draw the dagger out and turn it over in my hands. "But it's not exactly easy."

Elijah's face was all manly concern. "I know," he consoled. "Really, I do. It will get easier."

I looked up and met his eyes. "Yeah," I said. "I know it will."

And then I stuck the dagger into his heart.

As he gasped and sputtered around the blade, I twisted it and hissed; "You will _never_ threaten my sister again."

* * *

I can truly say that there's no high quite like the one right after you kill an Original vampire.

Alaric and John took a moment to gape at me, open-mouthed, before Alaric hefted Elijah's body into his arms and dragged it to- I assumed- the basement. He remerged in time to see me boot Uncle John out the door with a few choice words and a warning to never show his face around Mystic Falls (or try to kill my boyfriend) again. Jenna and Keeley emerged from the kitchen soon after, and although they bought my excuse about Elijah heading home a bit early, Damon didn't.

He attacked me with kisses the moment he got me alone.

"Brilliant, Siddie," he kept muttering into my mouth. "Absolutely brilliant!"

The others headed home, Jenna with a stern reminder that I was to sleep in my own bed, since it was a school night. Damon turned to the kitchen to run the dishwasher, and I took the moment to step outside onto the front porch, hands still shaking with adrenaline.

I felt empowered in ways I hadn't since the first couple days of Slayer-training with Carson. At the moment, killing Klaus seemed just as much a possibility as getting into NYU, or marrying Damon someday. If I could get rid of Elijah, I could do anything.

The phone in my lap gave a few short, impatient buzzes, and I looked down to see Elena's contact flashing across the screen again. I swung back and forth on the porch swing for a moment before answering, hands curling and uncurling in the sleeves of Damon's jacket.

"Hey," I answered with a throaty voice. "'M still alive."

Elena gave a breath of relief I could feel over the line. _"Oh, good. Thank God. I was getting a little worried."_ She paused. Stefan's voice said something in the background, and Elena sighed again. " _I'm guessing Damon is still alive, too?"_

I couldn't help but chuckle, still floating on anxiety. "Yeah, he is. A little mad at me for tricking him the way I did, but alive." I hesitated, mostly because I didn't want to suffocate her again, and bridged; "And you? You're good?"

There was a shuffling sound. Stefan's voice came again, and Elena replied, too quiet for me to hear. A door creaked open, and then there were crickets and her voice saying; _"Sidney, I need to apologize to you."_

"What for?" I prompted, mind tripping over itself, hasty to make Elena suffer just a little bit more for the emotional Hell she'd helped contribute to this past month. See? I'm very capable of being vengeful toward my people… Just, you know, in small dosages.

Elena gave that lofty, "I'm just like Mom, now" sigh she excelled at before replying petulantly, _"You know what for, Sid. I've been a really big"-_ hesitation, decision, mouth quickly spitting out the next word in barely a whisper- _"bitch about this whole 'I'm a sacrifice', thing, but to you especially, and you didn't deserve it because all you've done is try to protect me, and I love you, and I'm sorry, and also I promise I won't keep trying to give myself up because I believe in you, and also I love you, and I'm so, so sorry."_

I blinked harshly, cursing myself for how easily I cried when Elena got involved. I cleared my throat roughly, squared my shoulders the same way Dad used to, and bit my lip so hard it hurt. "I love you too," I responded fiercely and finally. "And I get it- You don't have anything to apologize for. I forgive you. And I really, really love you, alright?"

Okay, so yes, I was, in fact, a pushover. But with the absolute perfection that was my little sister around, could you blame me?

Elena mumbled something bashful and probably self-deprecating. Stefan's voice came again, and I found myself asking; "So, how's it going over there? When are you coming home? Are you and Stefan…?"

" _No_ ," Elena answered quickly. " _We decided to be just friends."_

That made me grin. "What? The same way me and Damon were 'just friends'?"

I heard Stefan give a clear laugh, accompanied by the familiar thumping sound of his shoulder being smacked.

" _No. The same way you and Corbin are 'just friends',"_ Elena informed me huffily.

I rolled my eyes, but I was relieved, at least a little bit, that she wasn't dating a vampire with a lot of enemies anymore. Now, barring Klaus, there was no reason for anyone to come after her. Once the Mikaelson issue was over and dealt with, she would be safe.

Me and Damon on the other hand…?

" _We're coming back to Mystic Falls tomorrow,"_ Elena informed me. " _So, I'll be there to give you a really big hug when you get home from school."_

"Good," I said, because I had really missed her hugs. Elena gave the best ones: All soft arms holding your waist tight and cinnamon-scented hair in your nose.

We said goodbye and the conversation ended, and as I stared up at the night sky, I let myself hope, for once. Hope that the future was just as bright as the stars.

* * *

That, of course, crashed and burned the minute I set foot in my bedroom.

Katherine Pierce stood in front of my dresser, a pair of satin, electric blue panties in one hand while the other rifled through the rest of the contents of my lingerie drawer. She gave me a toothy, friendly grin when I closed the door behind me. The hand with the panties waved.

"Hello, dearest," she purred. "Surprised to see me?"

"A bit," I growled, resisting the urge to: a) punch her in the face, b) rip my underwear out of her hands and then use them to smother her, or c) punch her in the face.

She pouted at me and put the panties back in their place. I made a mental note to burn them before going to bed that night. "You don't seem too enthused."

I snorted. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so glad the homicidal bitch who tormented my boyfriend and stabbed me is walking free again. What a blessing she is to the world."

"Be less boring, please," Katherine ordered, rolling her eyes. She tugged my hunting knife out of the lingerie drawer and waved it at me. "This is an odd place to keep a weapon… Sexy, though."

"You should try it on," I seethed. "It'd look great in your stomach."

"Ooh, matching stab wounds. What fun. BFF's forever, or some other shit," Katherine cooed. She raised a brow at me, all lax shoulders and dirty skin. "But I forgot, the Graham alchemist, she's your best friend, isn't she?"

"Anastasia," I corrected. That empty space Anastasia had left in my heart wilted. "And she's not my best friend anymore. She's-"

"Working for Klaus?" Katherine finished.

"You knew," I realized.

Another eye roll. If I ever got the chance, I was going to claw those eyes right out of her sockets. "Of course I knew. I know _everything_." Katherine assessed me again. "Damon knows that," she cajoled. "It's why he let me free."

I answered automatically; "No, he didn't. He wouldn't do that. He hates you even more than I do." _If that's physically possible, that is._

"Oh, of course he does. But that doesn't change the fact that he knows you two need all the help you can get- And I'm help, sweetheart. I know Klaus better than anyone- and I'm going to help you get rid of him."

"What's in it for you?" I asked.

Katherine shrugged now, falling gracefully onto my un-made bed and draping herself across the knit blankets and tribal prints. "Satisfaction. Revenge. The opportunity to make your skin crawl. Take your pick, honey," she rattled off. "But mostly revenge. I told Damon how to kill Elijah, you know, with the dagger. To not take it out or he would wake up again."

"But not that if Damon used the dagger he would die," I reminded her. "Of course you didn't. You don't care if Damon dies."

"But I do care if he's with you," Katherine advised me. "And, dearest, I really, really hate you."

"Right back atcha, your royal bitchiness," I quipped.

Katherine gave a derisive grunt and rose, crossing to the open window and throwing the knife back on my bed. "You'll be seeing a lot of me in the future," she resolved. "I'd get used to it if I were you. And Sidney? I'm going to really, really enjoy ruining your life."

"I'll look forward to seeing you try," I told her, and then she was gone.

I sagged onto my bed, scowling at the lingering lily-and-ginger smell, and called Elena again. When she answered, I offered nothing else but; "The bitch is back."

* * *

 **A/N: Two chapters in the same month? Wowie, I'm on a roll! Still expect chapter thirteen before or on Valentine's Day, and guys, can you believe we're only five chapters away from the end? This has gone quick! As always, thank you for reading, and please favorite, follow, and review if you'd like!**

 _ **Next time:**_ _Sidney receives an offer for a future outside of Mystic Falls, prompting an attack against her and her friends by an angry witch. Meanwhile, Isobel comes to town, leaving tensions high and strained between Keeley and Alaric, and Klaus' long-awaited arrival rattles the gang._


	13. Oh, Mama, I'm in Fear For My Life

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 13: Oh, Mama, I'm in Fear for My Life**

Almost a week after Elijah being paralyzed saw me in the backseat of Alaric's Jeep, trying to ignore him and Carson bickering with each other up front. There were several gallons of lighter fuel crammed into the back with me, as well as what looked like a blow torch on steroids, and Stefan's two hundred pounds of angst. I huffed into the window my cheek was smashed against. Alaric either needed to invest in a bigger car or start letting me drive myself to the Manly Manliness Club meetings; this was getting ridiculous.

Ever since we found out, courtesy of Katherine (the bitch), that Elijah was paralyzed rather than killed, we had gone out of our way to try and murder the fucker. (Elijah, not Katherine. Though, her death was on my to-do list, too.) Gun shots, disembowelment, drowning, woodchipper. _Nothing worked._ We hadn't even succeeded in staining his suit, though I had seen Damon eyeing a gallon of bleach the last time I had been at the Boarding House. Something told me the whole "light Elijah on fire" plan wasn't going to work, either, but I didn't have the heart to tell the boys that. They were enjoying the attempted destruction a little too much, in that way only boys could.

When we pulled up, Damon was waiting for us on the porch. He pumped Alaric's fist, ruffled Stefan's hair, nodded at Carson, and kissed me hard in that order before leading us into the woods behind the house.

I saw Katherine watching us from a window on the top floor and shot her the bird before following. We were really going to have to do something about her staying at the Boarding House. None of us trusted her enough for her to be constantly hanging around home base, and also, that was just a shitty thing for the Salva-bros to have to put up with.

Elijah's body had been dragged into a clearing in the forest and set on top of a pile of kindling. Carson and Stefan set down Alaric's equipment with a thunk, and I watched, brows raised, as the boys doused the Original with lighter fuel. Somehow, it didn't even wet his clothes. His hair still looked dry. Only the wood he lay on and the ground beneath that grew damp, and the impossibility of it frustrated me. We couldn't keep him like this forever.

"It's not going to work," I found myself stating as Damon pulled a book of matches from his pocket.

He rolled his eyes at me, huffing a lock of black hair away from his eyes. "Yes, it will," he bit out. His fingers struggled to light a match, and on the third try, one finally caught. He sent me a smug eyebrow-wiggle. "Don't doubt me, sweetheart."

There was a gagging sound from Stefan's direction, and when I turned to glare at him, he sent me a shrug and a grin. "Can't help it sometimes," he confessed. "The annoying little brother in me is just raring to go."

"Me. Original Vampire. About to burn alive," Damon complained. "Pay attention."

"Sorry," Stefan and I chorused. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Alaric smack his forehead. Carson's expression was somewhere along the lines of "utterly and completely done with all your immature shit".

With one last glower, Damon dropped the lit match onto the pyre, and with a whoosh of flames, everything was on fire…

Everything except Elijah.

"Are you shitting me?" Damon demanded, watching with horror as flames licked at a perfectly-untouched suit and tie. "Are you actually, honest to God, shitting me?"

Stefan stared at the pyre with awe in his face. "Maybe the Original Vampires are gods," he fished. "Because that would explain a lot."

Alaric gave an eye roll. "Or maybe they just can't be killed. That would explain more."

Carson said nothing, but he did grab the fire extinguisher and start spraying. A cloud of chemical-white sprang up around the pyre, sending Alaric and me into respective coughing fits, and when it faded, the pile of wood was grey ash, and Elijah lay in the heap like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White or whoever, more beautiful than it was fair for him to be.

"I'm going to head out," Alaric said after a while of staring and seething. "I've got papers to grade and a teenager to feed."

I snorted lightly and stuck my hands in my pockets. "I think Keeley is more than capable of taking care of herself," I drawled.

"Yeah," Alaric agreed. "But I still like to pretend she needs me."

With that, he collected his gear and headed out, accompanied by Carson, who gave me a noogie before he did. Stefan and Damon hauled Elijah's body back to the House, leaving me alone with a smoldering pile of synthetic ash. I kicked at it half-heartedly, something like terror curling in my heart. With one last huff up at the sky, I loped back to the Boarding House.

Damon and Stefan were emerging from the cellar when I entered, and Stefan waved before tramping up the stairs to his room. Damon turned to the door and locked it with an industrial-looking key from a heavy ring.

"Where's Katherine?" I asked.

He made a face and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Don't care. Probably pillaging a village. Wanna bang?"

I debated. Katherine was gone but Stefan was still upstairs. He was used to hearing us, though, and I could be quiet if I needed to, for his sake. I didn't have much homework that night, and Jenna didn't have family dinner planned, or anything. Also, we hadn't been able to have sex since Katherine moved into the Boarding House.

So, I shrugged and said, "Okay", and the next thing I knew, Damon's shoulder was digging into my stomach, and I was staring at his unreasonably-nice ass as he sprinted up the stairs. I giggled like a maniac and gave a wiggle, shrieking in indignation when he spanked me.

"Dude, what the hell?" I gasped, red in the face.

I could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he complained; "What? I'm trying to be romantic!"

I scoffed. "You and romance go together like- like toothpaste and orange juice."

He kicked the door open, threw me onto the bed, and tore my flannel off my shoulders.

"The clothing!" I gasped around the dark head ravaging my neck. "Stop with the ripping of it! I am broke!"

"Stop. Talking," Damon growled. I gasped at the buzzing sensation that caused on my neck, and gasped harder when he bit down, lapping at the small bit of blood he drew.

"I thought I smelled something delicious," the worst voice in the world purred from the doorway.

Damon and I both chorused a groan, and I snarled, "Can you not with the creepy, hateful bisexual bullshit for once, please, Katherine?"

She pretended to debate before answering, "No, I can't", and then she flounced off.

Damon and I sat in silence for a moment. He broke it by pointing out, "We could still fuck, you know."

"No, we can't," I replied sourly. "She'd be able to hear us. That's- That is way too weird for me."

"Stefan hears us all the time."

"That's _different_. I think she would just be… like, turned on by it, or something. I'm not down for that, Damon."

"Cock-blocked again," he sighed heavily.

Instead of answering, I buried my face in one of his pillows and screamed as loud as I could. Katherine was going to be death of us.

* * *

When I got home that night, Jenna was waiting for me in the kitchen with a thick envelope in her hands and a serial killer grin on her face. In answer to my raised eyebrows, she merely smiled wider and handed me the envelope, already opened. When I flipped it over, I saw the purple torch of NYU's logo.

"You know opening someone else's mail is a federal offense," I stalled, stomach a mass of butterflies.

Jenna rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, still grinning. "Just open it, girly."

I did, and then immediately began to scream.

"Holy shit!" I shrieked, bouncing so quickly my feet barely touched the floor. "Holy shit, holy shit, _holy shit_!"

Jenna laughed at me. "I know! Congrats!"

There was a clatter, and Jeremy appeared at the top of the stairs, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "What the hell is happening?" he demanded. "Are vampires attacking or somethin'?"

"Language," Jenna reminded. "And Sid just got her acceptance letter from NYU's photography school."

Jeremy blinked away his nap and grinned widely. " _Nice_."

I whooped out an exuberant laugh, and couldn't stop, dancing around the kitchen like a maniac. After a bare second of hesitation, Jenna joined me. Jeremy blearily took out his cellphone and began to film us, probably about to send the video to Elena, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

Jeremy headed back upstairs to finish his nap while Jenna ordered a pizza and scrounged up a bottle of champagne to open. I found myself bounding out onto the front porch and curling up on the swing-bench. My fingers were calling Damon before I was even settled in the seat.

" _Damon Salvatore speaking_ ," he quipped glibly after six rings, " _if this is an emergency, please scream now."_

I rolled my eyes, teeth chattering in excitement, and blurted; "Not an emergency, but I'm going to scream anyway."

" _Why?_ " There was something like suspicion in his voice.

"Because your girl just got her acceptance letter from NYU!"

The excited laugh Damon produced warmed my heart more than almost anything else had that night. " _Nice_!" he breathed. _"Want me to come over so we can celebrate?"_

"Sure," I giggled, teeth clacking together as I rode the college-acceptance high. "Sure, come on over. _Oh,_ my God. _Damon_."

" _I know."_

"I can't believe it!"

" _I know!"_

We started laughing again, but it died down soon enough. I caught sight of the lamppost Elijah used to stand under when he was stalking me. Ice cold water doused the fire in my chest and settled, sickening and heavy in my stomach.

"Do you think I'll get to go?" I asked, voicing a fear I hadn't even known I would have until that moment.

Damon snorted. " _Why wouldn't you? You got in, you've got the money for it, and it's your dream school. Why on Earth wouldn't you go?"_

I shrugged. "I don't know," I mused. "Do you… Do you think everything with Klaus will have died down by then? Do you think it'll be safe for me to leave town- leave Elena? What if…?"

" _Don't finish that statement,_ " Damon said quickly.

I felt myself frown and pulled my knees up to my chest. "Damon-"

" _No_ ," he insisted. " _You're going to get to go, I promise. I'll make sure of it. Alright? I'll make sure you can have as normal and boring and human a college experience as possible."_

I frowned, a little miffed that Damon thought he had such control over a future that was shaky at best- But then again, that stubborn self-confidence was one of the things I loved about him. And I couldn't help but smile as he rattled off all the things we would do together once I was in college; because, he said, he hadn't been a student in a century, and obviously, some things had changed since then. So, of course, it made sense for him to enroll with me, right? And as he talked, I couldn't help but think that maybe- just maybe, our future might be as bright as he seemed to believe it was.

* * *

I had seen an unfortunately large amount of Anastasia since punching her in the face a few weeks ago. In a small town like Mystic Falls, it was hard not to. The fact that we were both graduating seniors made it even more difficult, with senior lunches, parent nights, and graduation rehearsals. We also had a lot of classes together, though Carson and my soccer friends had done a pretty good job of warding her off with glares, scowls and such.

That Friday morning, though, I was by myself, and somehow, the two of us ended up standing alone outside the History classroom, waiting for Alaric to come by and open the door for us. Anastasia and I stood in an awkward silence. I entertained myself by taking test shots of my motorcycle boots with the Canon hanging around my neck, and the rhythmic click of the camera shutter filled an otherwise tense quiet.

"I recognize that dress," Anastasia said suddenly. My head whipped up and I peered over at her in shock. "That's the one you wore when you and Damon…" She trailed off, taking in my glare, and stared steadily back down again, but that wasn't enough for me.

"Jesus God, don't try to be friends with me," I spat at her. "There's nothing you could possibly do to make what you did- what you and your dad are still trying to do- better. So, don't talk to me about my dress or Damon or the prom or- or anything that doesn't have to do with the fact that you're working for the deranged psychopath trying to kill my sister. Got it?"

"Got it," she squeaked.

Another minute or two passed.

"I'm sorry-"

"Dude, what the fuck?"

"I'm sorry!" Anastasia insisted. "Really, I am! If I-"

"'If you' nothing!" I snarled. "If you really didn't want to do this, you wouldn't, alright? This isn't- This isn't Andrew, this- This is different, Anastasia. This is so different! This is my sister- my sister whose life is in danger, and will continue to be in danger, because of you. Some things are not forgivable. _This_ is not forgivable and I'm not a pushover with you- not anymore, not with this. So, so, so don't-"

Anastasia held up her hands in surrender, and I took the moment to breathe, panting with rage. "Okay, okay, okay. I won't- I'll stop trying- but, Sidney-"

" _What_?"

"Klaus is coming to town. He'll be here by Monday morning. I just… wanted… I just thought you should know."

* * *

"Isobel's in town."

Keeley blinked at her dad where he leaned against her bank of lockers, sneaking a glance down at her watch to see a digital _9:22 am_ blinking up at her. IE, too early for vampire/Saltzman-family bullshit. Another look at her travel thermos showed that it was unfortunately empty of coffee.

"Okay," she said slowly. "How do you know this?"

Because Alaric would have said something to her before they left the apartment if he had known about this for overly long. And, really, this was kind of a huge deal. Keeley didn't see her undead mother very often, but things never turned out very well for the people of Mystic Falls when she did.

"Jenna saw her and called me," Alaric told her quickly.

Keeley nodded. Her stomach was a riot of butterflies. She unscrewed the lid of her thermos and tipped it all the way back, lapping desperately at the few drops of lukewarm coffee that spilled into her throat. She coughed and wiped furiously at her mouth.

"Great," she rasped. "Awesome. Cool. I'm sure I'll see her soon, then."

Isobel was a… touchy subject for the remaining members of the Saltzman family. She had walked out on them only two years after giving birth to Keeley. Or rather, faked her own death, begged Damon Salvatore to turn her into a vampire, and then subsequently let them think that she had been brutally murdered up until earlier this year, when she had come to Mystic Falls, revealed that Elena was Keeley's half-sister, and then tried to get all of them killed. Somewhere in between holding Jeremy for ransom and trying to drive Sidney insane, Isobel had found the time to track Keeley down, and offer to take her out of Mystic Falls. Keeley had, obviously, refused, but the encounter had been enough to end any lingering feelings Alaric had left for his undead ex-wife.

Alaric grumbled his discontent. "I'm sure you will. But when you do, run. Don't talk to her, don't wave at her, don't even look at her. And whatever you do, don't let her into the apartment. Got it?"

Keeley nodded, but something in her chest was saying otherwise. Because no matter what Isobel had done, deep down, she was still Keeley's mother. And a part of Keeley would always love her.

For the rest of that day, Keeley alternated between suffocating Isobel under piles of Physics equations and agonizing over what she would say to her mother when she inevitably saw her. Because Keeley knew her dad would be mad at her for it, but she couldn't just say _nothing._

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked her at lunch, watching as Keeley poked glumly at her PB+J. "You've been acting like more of a headcase than usual today. And Caroline agrees with me."

Caroline nodded. "I saw you drinking coffee this morning, so it's not because Alaric cut you off. Did one of your book characters die again? Did you read _Gatsby_ last night?"

"No," Keeley insisted, and then to Caroline's raised eyebrows, repeated; " _No_."

"Then what is bothering you?" Stefan asked. He drummed his fingers against the top of his coffee cup from the school's café. "Because you said it's not books, and if it's not books and it's not vampire stuff, then-" He stopped short, eyes blowing wide. " _Oh_."

"'Oh'? What 'oh'?" Caroline demanded as Keely nodded.

Stefan rolled his head around and gave her his mom-look. "Damon ran into Isobel last night," he explained.

" _Oh_ ," Caroline chorused.

"Can you not?" Keeley snapped. She wrestled Stefan's coffee away from him, plucked the lid off and chugged it. "With the long, drawn out 'oh's?" she tacked on when she came up for air. "Can we not, please?"

Stefan gave a mock scowl and stole his cup back, though after a moment of glaring, pushed it Keeley's way again.

"You need it more than I do," he explained as she started guzzling again. "And, also, I'm sorry?"

"You aren't the one who faked her own death," Keeley groused. "You don't have to apologize."

"Still. That's some _Days of Our Lives_ shit right there."

Keeley groaned into her cup, the noise echoing back up at her. She was too done with anything and everything to reply with actual words. She did, however, appreciate Stefan's willingness to curse for her. It always warmed her heart when he did.

"I get it," Caroline soothed, and then when Keeley glared at her, hastened, "No, really, I do! I mean, not the 'faking her own death' and 'working for Katherine' part, because, really that's fucked up. But your mom leaving you, I do get. And your dad not wanting you to talk to her? I get that, too."

Gay, absentee father was different from vampire, absentee mother, but just similar enough for Keeley to be comforted a little bit. So, she let Caroline braid her hair and distract her with sleeping puppy videos up until last period, when she was handed off to Stefan, who forced her to play several games of "hang-man" with him, instead of focusing on Alaric's lecture. At the first sound of the bell, though, she was sprinting out the door before either man could stop her. Keeley needed some alone time, and she needed it without being stalked by a father and/or vampire best friend(s).

The natural place for alone time was Read-It-Again. Keeley's favorite bookstore was an oasis of rustic charm in the middle of Main Street, with enough secondhand books and secondhand armchairs to keep her sated and distracted for hours on end. She buried her nose in a first edition _The Magician's Nephew_ and didn't resurface until a too-soft, too-familiar hand tapped the top of her head.

With a jerk, Keeley looked up to find Isobel Fleming smiling softly down at her.

"Elena told me I would probably find you here," Isobel explained apologetically. "Here or the library. It's nice to know you still love books so much."

"I was two when you left. I couldn't read," Keeley pointed out.

Isobel shrugged. "Yes, but I checked in on you from time to time."

"Oh," said Keeley. "Dad says I'm not allowed to talk to you."

And yes, it was awkward, but it was also the truth. Every single molecule in Keeley's body wanted to g _et away_ , to regroup and think of something to say to her mother that wasn't; "Why did you leave us?" Because that would very quickly turn into a "Why did you leave _me_?", and Keeley didn't want to reopen wounds that had long since scarred over.

If Isobel was as hurt as Keeley, she didn't show it. "Are you allowed to listen?" she asked. "Because there are some things I desperately need to tell you."

Keeley hesitated. "I mean, Dad didn't specifically say I couldn't…." She trailed off and shook her head. "I'm not a dummy, I understood the subtext. No, he doesn't want me listening to you. In fact, he told me to walk in the other direction if I even saw you."

Isobel rolled her eyes. Keeley thought the move way too blasé for their particular situation, but didn't get the chance to say so, as Isobel motored on with; "What I need to tell you pertains directly to your personal safety, so I think your dad will make an exception."

"I don't-"

"It's about Klaus."

Keeley paused. She shifted. She glanced nervously from her book to the door of the store.

She wasn't supposed to be talking with Isobel. But she also knew Klaus was the ultimate Big Bad of ultimate Big Bads, and that even the smallest bit of advantage they could get over him might save all of their lives. Keeley knew she wasn't meant to play a very big role in the upcoming fight, but if she could help, even a little bit, then dammit she would.

And there was also the very, very small part of her that was still a kid and still wishing for a mother, that wanted to spend as much time with Isobel as she could.

So, she said; "Okay," and set her book back on its shelf. "I'll listen."

Isobel's shoulders slumped infinitesimally, but Keeley found herself spluttering out, "Look, I… It wasn't my idea to call you the other day. Stefan- Um, Stefan Salvatore, my friend, said that you- you might want to help us protect Elena, and I thought- Well, he asked me to call you. And… Yeah…"

"I had a feeling," Isobel admitted with another shrug. "But, regardless, we do need to talk. Klaus is coming soon, and I want you to be safe."

"Oh," Keeley said again. She'd said it far too much that day. She pushed hands through her hair and nervously switched from fourth position to fifth. "Listen," she reasoned. "I appreciate you trying to protect me and all, but… But my dad… Dad says it's not safe to be around you. He doesn't trust you anymore."

"Do you?"

Keeley hesitated. "I don't know," she conceded after a long minute. "But- But I do trust him. We've been… He's been all I had for a long time now and you- You haven't. So, if I have to choose between the two of you- and I'm pretty sure that's what you guys are trying to make me do- I'm going to choose him. I will always choose him."

Keeley couldn't be sure, but she thought Isobel's face looked… maybe a little sad?

"I understand," Isobel said with a nod. "I left, Alaric didn't. Can I at least give you a ride home?"

 _I am an idiot,_ Keeley told herself even as her mouth said, "Yeah, sure."

The two of them meandered out of the bookstore and onto the crowded town square. Across the street, Keeley saw Sidney and Jeremy waiting to be seated at the Grille. She thought about waving, and then thought better of it even quicker. Where Sidney was, Damon was sure to follow, and he would tell Alaric about Keeley and Isobel in a heartbeat.

Isobel lead her to a powder-blue Jeep parked in the three-story parking deck that took up the corner of town square. Keeley should have checked the backseat before she got in, and she should have noticed the way Isobel looked around for any witnesses before unlocking the car. In fact, she shouldn't have gone anywhere with Isobel in the first place.

But all of Keeley's cleverness tended to go out the window around her mother, and so it was that when she climbed into the Jeep, she saw Elena Gilbert's prone form passed out in the backseat. And when she opened her mouth to scream, she was stopped by a harsh blow to the back of the head.

No one noticed the Jeep drive out of town that night, and it would be a long time before anyone noticed that the two girls kept inside of it were missing.

* * *

"Where's Keeley?" I asked Caroline that night at The Grille. Jenna and Elena had organized a girls' night to celebrate my NYU acceptance, and it was weird to see Caroline without Keeley bouncing around her.

Caroline shrugged and nodded at the bookstore across the street. "Probably in there," she told me. "Isobel's in town. Keeley's not doing too great tonight."

"Okay," I said, because damn, that was understandable, and then that was the last of it for an hour or so.

Damon called me halfway through dinner, and then when I didn't answer, sent me a **911!** text and immediately called me again.

"'Sup?" I breathed, ducking up against the bar to answer.

" _Incoming,_ " Damon warned. _"Incoming, incoming, incoming. Witches- Elijah's witches from the werewolf thing last week?"_

"Yes?"

" _They were just here, trying to get his body back. Something tells me they're headed your way."_

From our table, Bonnie was waving at me desperately. When I raised a brow, she pointed at the door, and there stood the witch from our battle with the werewolves: Jonas. He saw me and began barreling over, followed quickly by Bonnie, Caroline, and, to my consternation, Elena.

"Yeah. Yeah, he's here," I chattered quickly into my phone as the group grew closer and closer. "Gottagobye!"

" _Siddie-_!"

I hung up. Jonas reeled to a stop in front of me, nostrils flaring. A fresh cut dripped from his dark forehead.

" _You_!" he breathed. "You, you, you!"

"Me," I said simply. Behind Jonas, Bonnie was pulling out a hex bag.

"You betrayed him," Jonas spat. "You broke your word. _How are you still alive_?"

"She has very good people around her," Elena answered for me. And then she ripped Jonas' heart out and I realized that, no, that was not Elena.

"Dude, what the hell?" Caroline freaked. She blinked hard at Katherine, who just grinned and waggled blood-stained fingers back at her. "Oh- Oh. Oh, my God."

"Surprise," Katherine said with a giggle.

I slapped her across the face.

"Where the hell is Elena?" I demanded.

Katherine rolled her eyes, and I fought the urge to bitch-slap her again. "With Keeley," she replied dismissively.

Caroline, who had been watching for any possible witnesses, stiffened. She leaned over and grabbed Katherine by the front of her shirt, dragging her into eye contact. "And where is Keeley?" she demanded.

"With Isobel," Katherine supplied. "The Petrova girls went on a road trip. I'm almost jealous that I wasn't invited."

* * *

Keeley woke up to cold fingertips flitting nervously around the back of her head. Something squeaked hotly against her cheek, and when her eyes fluttered open, she saw an expanse of sweaty, grey leather. The vibrations of the Jeep rattled through her ears. She sat up and brushed dark curls away from her face, meeting the worried eyes of Elena, who had been the one hovering over her.

"You're awake," she stated lamely.

"Yeah," Keeley replied, even though it hadn't been a question. She met Isobel's eyes through the rearview mirror and then looked away and out the window immediately. A highway rushed by them, one she thought she vaguely recognized. "Where are we?"

"North Carolina," said Isobel.

Keeley flinched, eyes taking in the license plates that surrounded them with critical comprehension. Why, why, why were they in North Carolina? This was where the Saltzmans had lived as a family before… Well, just before. Isobel had been so desperate to get away from this place, so why had she brought them back here?

Elena, emboldened by Keeley's consciousness, spat out, "Where are you taking us?"

As she spoke, Isobel turned them onto the Greensboro exit, Keeley's hometown. "My grave."

"Why?" Keeley demanded. Isobel didn't answer, and a scant few moments later, they were pulling into town. "Why are you bringing us- there? Why?"

There was still silence. A ball of nausea built up in Keeley's stomach and bubbled out; "Why would you go there now? Why didn't you show up when I was a little kid bawling my eyes out? Why didn't you show up when Dad… Why? Why, why, why?"

Isobel continued to hold her quiet, and finally, Keeley was yelling; " _Why_ , dammit? _Why_!"

"Keeley!" Elena cried. She wrestled Keeley's hands away from where they had begun scratching at her neck without her noticing. "Keeley, calm down!"

Keeley laughed without humor. "I'm sure that's easy for you to say," she babbled. "This is, what, like the third time you've been kidnapped this year?"

Elena shot her a resenting look, and Keeley felt a flush of guilt in her stomach.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Sorry, sorry- Not cool."

"No. Pretty 'not cool', Keels."

The Jeep had stopped suddenly, and when the door was yanked open, Keeley tumbled out. Isobel's hand wrapped around her forearm and began dragging her to the entrance of the graveyard, Elena hurrying along after them. Keeley finally got her feet under her and began walking in pace with Isobel, even though every part of her wanted to run out of the cemetery and never come back.

She and Dad had said goodbye before moving to Mystic Falls, and Keeley had fully intended for that to be the last time she would ever set foot here. But now the very ghost they had been running from was tugging her to the grave that haunted her. And now Dad was nowhere in sight and Keeley missed him badly and she just wanted to be _home_ with him. Home in the not-entirely-safe town of Mystic Falls but home in the warm, comforting space she had made for herself with Caroline and Stefan and books and friendship and cheerleading and, yes, maybe a lot of death, but s _o what._

Isobel released her arm suddenly. Keeley reeled back and was caught by Elena, who didn't let go, and instead clung to her as the two girls watched their mother inspect her headstone.

"'Beloved mother and wife'," Isobel read, a lot of irony in her mouth. She quirked a smile at Keeley. "Not so much anymore, huh?"

"Dad kind of hates you," Keeley got out around the mom-shaped lump in her throat.

"Do you?"

"I'm starting to, yeah."

Isobel flinched up and away from the headstone. She stood, back ramrod straight, on top of the empty grave she should have been filling, hurt lining her brow. "I don't blame you," she finally said. "But I am still sorry."

"For what?" Elena demanded before Keeley could even think of something to say. "For kidnapping us? For abandoning us? For what?"

"All of it," Isobel replied post haste. "Everything. All- All of it. Just- I'm sorry for all I've put you girls through. You both deserved a mother much better than me."

Hurt stabbed at Keeley's gut. She blinked away the heat in her eyes and croaked; "Bit late for that."

Isobel shook her head sadly. "Much too late," she said quietly. "Much, much too late." She glanced up at the sky, and the sun beginning to break through the clouds, before taking a deep breath and confessing; "I'm working for Klaus."

Keeley felt more than heard Elena's gasp.

"He told me to kidnap you," Isobel said to Elena, though that didn't explain why she had taken Keeley. "He compelled me to do it. But he didn't say where I had to take you to, and I… I thought that I could end it all. Could make up for all that I've done to you. Ridiculous, I know, to think that you would forgive- That you _could_ forgive me, either of you. But I wanted you both to be here for this, so that I could say goodbye."

As she spoke, the sun appeared, brighter and clearer over their heads, and Isobel began to unclasp the lapis lazuli pendant hanging around her neck.

"Stop," Keeley breathed. Elena's arms tightened around her, and Keeley couldn't move. "Isobel- Mom, stop."

Isobel sent her a sad, watery smile, to match the tears Keeley only just now realized were trickling down her cheeks.

"I can't," Isobel said, and then she jerked the necklace off.

As she watched her mother go up in flames, Keeley dimly realized that Elena was screaming and someone else was yelling as they ran up. Sidney Gilbert was there, all of a sudden, accompanied by Bonnie, who watched the fire with a fascinated sort of interest. But Isobel was dead- really, finally dead- and that was all Sidney could think about as she was taken home to an empty apartment and laid down in a cold, unmade bed.

Caroline was blowing up her phone, but it was Stefan who, hours later, slipped through the window and stared sadly down at her.

"I'm not going to ask if you're okay," he warned her.

"Good," Keeley sniffed. She managed a pale sliver of her usual smile. "Because I'm not."

Stefan's face screwed up. He waved an arm at the nest she had built for herself and asked; "Could I…?"

Keeley felt herself nod, and then Stefan was there, his paper-cinnamon scent and heavy heat surrounding her, arms winding around her waist and pulling her into a hard chest. The dam broke, and she began to cry, wet sobs muffled by hands and pillows. Stefan's mouth curled into a frown where it touched her curls. The two of them stayed like that, curled up into each other and away from the world, as the sun that had killed Isobel set and a new night dawned.

And Alaric never came back.

* * *

Anastasia was used to coming home to an empty house. Her father, Oscar Graham, was away, renting out his services as an alchemist for various supernatural entities, most of the time. He only came home once in a blue moon, and when he did, he tended to stay in the house for the majority of his stay.

This visit was different, though. He didn't usually bring his work home with him.

The Graham house had been bustling with warlocks, vampires, witches, and werewolves alike as the supernatural community prepared for Klaus's arrival. Anastasia's home had been alive in a way she wasn't used to, without Sidney or the other girls from their grade, and without cheerfulness or warmth. Alive in the way of sharp-edged wit and fearful whispers that would cut off the minute she entered the room.

This dark, empty, searching quiet was more familiar to her, though much scarier.

"Hello?" she called into the shadows of the kitchen, setting her purse and keys on the counter. "Anyone here?"

From the dusky hallway, footsteps echoed, and Alaric Saltzman appeared in the dim moonlight filtering in from behind the curtained windows. Anastasia flinched away from him, fingers instinctively trailing toward the knife block.

"Just me," Alaric said in a voice very unlike his own. This one was rougher, wilder.

"Mr. Saltzman?" Anastasia demanded. His eyes roamed up and down her body, making her feel very exposed. "What are you doing here? _How_ are you here?"

Alaric shook his head, chuckling lowly. "Not Alaric Saltzman."

Anastasia sucked in a breath. Her father had been looking for a… _Vessel_.

"Mr. Mikaelson?" she tried again.

Klaus grinned at her. "Lovely to meet you," he purred. Anastasia's heart thundered in her chest. "Now, your father tells me that you are quite the wellspring of information about Elena Gilbert and her friends."

Anastasia swallowed hard and replied, "Yes. I would suppose I am."

"Good, good," Klaus clucked. "But one friend in particular, yes?" Without waiting for her to reply, he tacked on; "I'd very much like for you to tell me about her sister- Sidney Gilbert."

* * *

 **A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Klaus is in town! Apologies for not getting this up before Valentine's Day- During my time away, I kind of sort of wrote my first play? And I'm doing a staged reading of it at the end of April? Yeah, big things have been happening in the world of Lil-writing-original-works-as-her-professional-actual-job. It's kind of trippy. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, so I'm saying a tentative Easter-ish? Keep an eye out, and please leave a review if you feel so inclined. (Side note: I finally started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I can confirm, Buffy and Sidney would either be best friends or mortal enemies, with zero in between. I'm more of a Willow person myself, though.) (Side, side note: Chapter title taken from "Renegade" by Styx, one of the best songs of all time.)**

 _ **Next time:**_ _Klaus's reign of terror begins at Sidney's senior prom, forcing her to take drastic measures in what may very well be her last stand._


	14. Vampire Prom

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 14: Vampire Prom**

"What, um…" Anastasia couldn't continue, could barely breathe, old, not-entirely-fake loyalties making themselves known. Her heart was heavy. "What do you want to know about Sidney? _Why_ do you want to know about Sidney?"

Klaus-Alaric shrugged, leaning too casually against the kitchen counter. Moonlight made sharp, slanted lines across his cheekbones. "Curiosity," he drawled. "My brother seems quite taken with her, by all accounts- Though he's been disposed of recently, hasn't he?"

"I wouldn't know," Anastasia blurted. "Sidney and I don't talk much, anymore."

"Pity," Klaus purred dryly, not sounding like he meant it much at all. "Sidney's the doppelganger's older sister, yeah? And she's sleeping with the oldest Salvatore. Interesting dynamic. Oldest and oldest, youngest and youngest. Almost incestuous."

Talking about her fake-best friend's sex life with her dad's Original-vampire/hybrid boss was the lowest of low on Anastasia's list of priorities. "I guess. Maybe."

Klaus gave a frustrated grimace and drew uncomfortably closer to Anastasia. "How would you describe her?"

"Loyal," Anastasia babbled, feeling the echoes of a punch to her nose. "Fiercely loyal. Honest. Passionate. Brave."

"The penultimate Hufflepuff, then," Klaus hummed wryly.

"What?"

"Never mind. And the rest of Elena's protectors- The Salvatores, what of them?"

And so, it continued. For what felt like, and probably were, hours, Anastasia told Klaus all she knew about Elena's inner circle; a circle she had once been a part of. All of their individual strengths and weaknesses, loves and hates, and everything in between that she could think of, she told. All of it, up until the moment Anastasia had been punched out of the group.

When all the sordid tales had been told, Anastasia and Klaus sat, in a tense, contemplative silence, at the breakfast table. Klaus drew patterns in the dappled shadows on the surface of the buffet. Anastasia watched, stomach a churning mess. Something suspiciously like tears burned at her eyes.

"Fascinating," he breathed finally. His finger tapped hard on the grains of wood. "It would make a remarkable novel. Pity so few of them will live to tell the story."

Anastasia's shoulders tensed and rose. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "From what you've told me, every one of Elena's friends and family would gladly give their life for hers. And they will. Somehow, some way."

It wasn't like Anastasia had never thought about that before- about Sidney or Elena (definitely Elena) or any of the others being _killed_ by Klaus. ( _By you,_ a darker, quieter part of her whispered. _Really by you.)_ But hearing it so blatantly thrown out by the very man- vampire, werewolf, hybrid, thing- that was orchestrating all of this? That was a different story entirely.

"Thank you, Anastasia," Klaus said as he rose from his chair. "You've been a great help- though I'm sure you already knew that."

If it was meant to be a barb, it was certainly an effective one. Anastasia flinched as he brushed past her and headed for the stairs. What she had done, was still doing, was right, though. Klaus would be free of his curse, and her dad would be free of Klaus, and she'd be free to have a family again.

"You look like you've seen a monster."

Katherine replaced Klaus in the chair across from Anastasia's, and she bit back a groan.

"Mostly because I have," Anastasia replied testily.

The undead doppelganger had been captured and held hostage in the Graham house since Friday night, and Anastasia couldn't say she was enjoying the experience. Of all the supernatural beings she and her dad had encountered, Katherine was the only one to ever threaten Anastasia's absentee mother. Add in still festering wounds over all Katherine had done to Sidney, and the general confusion that anger caused, and you had a very uncomfortable Anastasia.

Katherine stared at her for a long minute. Anastasia felt goosebumps erupt across her skin and held in a shiver.

"What do you want, Graham?" Katherine asked lowly. "I can't figure you out."

That was okay. Not many people could. But Katherine was a dead woman walking, anyway.

"A family," said Anastasia shortly. "A real one."

Katherine snorted and looped her eyes up to the ceiling. "You had one," she shot back. "A small one, but a good one, from what I could tell." At Anastasia's confused look, she amended; "With Buffy and the Slayers? The Gilberts' gang. The whole rag-tag group of misfits thing suited you. I'm surprised you threw it all away."

Anastasia scowled deeply, that magic-bit flickering in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to melt Katherine's face off, use her heart and her spine in a brew, drain the still blood from her paper-thin veins.

"It wasn't real," Anastasia spat. "None of it was. Not ever. Sidney was just the doppelganger's older sister. I never loved her."

Katherine laughed. Anastasia blinked, and the vampire was halfway up the staircase.

"You're a very good liar, Anastasia," Katherine called down behind her. "Don't be surprised when it gets you and your father killed."

* * *

Keeley blinked awake on Monday morning to find Stefan's face not an inch away from hers. Her breath caught for a hot second before it fanned, warm and probably gross-smelling, across the faint smattering of freckles on the bridge of Stefan's nose.

His bushy eyebrows clenched and smoothed, and a light groan came from too-full lips, which pursed and relaxed post-haste. After a moment of near-wakefulness, Stefan rolled over and Keeley inhaled for the first time, only to choke on fluffy, red-gold hair.

"Darn Edward Cullen wannabees," she grumbled, before forcing herself to her feet.

After a quick trip to the bathroom for toilet and toothbrush, Keely found herself standing at the foot of her own bed, frowning down at the vampire draped across it. He had been there for the better part of the weekend, cuddling her tears away in the absence of her dad and Caroline, and had now taken possession of her favorite stuffed animal. Josephine Bonaparte the cat plushy grinned coyly at Keeley over Stefan's muscled shoulder.

"Up," Keeley barked, kicking at the bed frame. "Come on, dude. Get up. School is still a thing."

Stefan groaned again and squeezed Josephine harder.

"Yeah, well, that's what you get for enrolling in high school at two-hundred. Up!"

A green eye shot open and surveyed her impassively. "You," Stefan declared after a moment, "are the worst friend of all time."

Keeley rolled her eyes, checking on the alarm clock as she did. "Yeah, well, tough bananas," she said. "First bell is in twenty minutes and I want to get coffee before that and see if my dad is at school. So, get your stupid butt up."

Mumbling complaints under his breath, Stefan sat up and yawned. As he stretched, his t-shirt rose up, revealing the abs Keeley had been trying to ignore all weekend, and he smacked his pillow-y lips together as he settled. Perturbed that she had even used the word "pillow-y" to describe someone's mouth, let alone _Stefan's_ mouth, Keeley hurried back into the bathroom to take a shower. A cold one.

Stefan wasn't in the bedroom anymore when she re-entered it, and she dressed hurriedly, not even bothering to run a brush through her curls. It was a Monday and she had recently watched her mom commit suicide. Keeley couldn't bring herself to care whether she had bed-head or not.

Stefan was already waiting at the door with her backpack, phone, and keys in hand, and he gave them to her when she sidled up to him. Neither of them talked as they headed down to his car, but Keeley hummed along softly when he switched the radio onto the station they both liked. A quick text to Caroline to confirm her order and a stop at Sundays with Suzie later, they were in the school parking lot. Keeley bounced out of his car, across the street, and up the steps to the office so quickly Stefan had a hard time keeping up with her, especially with the carrier of coffees in his hands.

"Hi, Leila," Keeley breathed at the elderly receptionist, who smiled warmly at the two of them. "Did my dad request a substitute for the day?"

Leila frowned before looking down at her computer. After a few seconds of typing: "No, dear, did he need to? Is everything alright, sweetheart?"

Keeley choked on her excuse even as it came out; "Yes, we're fine. Have a good morning."

"You, too, kids," Leila called after the two of them as Keeley lead the way out of the office, more bounce in her step than there had been on the way in.

"So, he'll be here," Keeley spluttered up to Stefan, who hummed around his cup of coffee. "He was probably just getting blackout drunk at Damon's- not that he's ever, like, done that before around me, but still. It's something like that. He's not mad at me."

If the look on Stefan's face was one of dubiousness, he didn't say anything to confirm it.

Caroline was waiting for them outside of Alaric's door. She took one look at Keeley's face before pulling her into the kind of long, warm, hard hug that made Keeley distinctively uncomfortable and maybe a little sad for reasons she didn't like to think about. There was hair-petting and everything. Keeley ignored the mist in her eyes when she straightened.

"You okay?" Caroline asked, considerable attention focused sole-y on Keeley, who squirmed under the gaze.

"'M fine," Keeley mumbled. "Just need to talk to my dad."

Stefan and Caroline shared a look over her head. Rather than scowl and complain, as she was wont to do, she took the opportunity to duck into the classroom. Her dad stood at the front of the room, nose buried in a thin student file. He snapped it closed before Keeley could see the name on it.

"Trouble makers?" she joked. "You should pull another _Dead Poets' Society_ and recite the Declaration of Independence on top of the desk."

Alaric just stared at her, brows raised.

Keeley coughed and shifted into a defensive fifth position, sweaty hands tangling themselves around her backpack straps. "Not the time?" she asked.

"No," Alaric replied slowly. His brows weren't doing the furrowing, nose-wrinkle thing that they both did when they were mad. Keeley didn't know what to make of that.

"Are you mad?"

More staring.

"So, yes?" Keeley prompted. "Look, if it makes things any better- I- I did tell her… everything that you told me I should say to her- And I told her that I was staying with you and that, no matter what she said, I was always going to stay with you, but…"

Alaric's face hadn't changed in the slightest, so Keeley hastened; "But she's still… She's still my mom, Dad, she's still- still Isobel. And… Yeah, it was really dumb of me to get in the car with her and I'm sorry about that, but…" She scowled back tears. "She was still my mom, is all. I'm sorry."

"Keeley," her dad said finally.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I won't be home for a while," he rattled. "I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't try to talk to me until I am."

Keeley stared. There was this loud ringing in her ears, and she couldn't quite- quite _understand_ …

"What?" she whispered.

Alaric, not looking very bothered at all, turned back to the board. "I'm quite sure you heard me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a lesson to get ready."

He didn't even glance at her. Shell-shocked, Keeley stood stock still for a moment, before heaving a deep, gulping breath. Mouth still open, she dimly felt herself shuffle for the door, and pause, hand over the handle. When she looked back over her shoulder, Alaric was still ignoring her. Keeley opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

Caroline and Stefan loomed over her the second the door clicked shut behind her.

"How'd it go?" Caroline asked.

Keeley's too-full bottom lip trembled, and she broke. Caroline and Stefan shared another look over her head, but she was too far gone to care.

This was turning out to be a very, very shitty Monday.

* * *

Klaus was pleased, though not overtly impressed.

His decision to take Alaric Saltzman's body had turned out to be a good one. Alaric's job as a teacher gave him access to not only Klaus's prey's information, but access to his prey themselves. Klaus had managed to gather addresses, phone numbers, a good deal of dirty little secrets, and most importantly, first impressions.

They hadn't been worrisome.

The doppelganger herself was, to no one's surprise, willowy, doe-eyed, and more than a little jarring. Klaus hated the sensation each new woman gave him, that little electric bubble buried deep down in his stomach. This generation's sacrifice was named Elena Gilbert, a smart, sweet girl with a voice like maple syrup. Klaus almost felt bad about murdering her. But not really.

He had felt a brief bit of concern for her older, adopted sister, Sidney Gilbert, who, by all accounts, was Elena's fiercest protector, and Klaus's biggest threat. The human Slayer had somehow managed to take down Elijah, but the in-person girl was not who Klaus had expected. She was a tall, wise-cracking, freckle-covered brunette with bright green eyes and a toothy smile. Anastasia had called Sidney passionate, and she was, speaking up in class and asking more questions than any of the other, mostly-uncaring seniors that surrounded her.

She treated Klaus with the kind of easy, playful camaraderie he hadn't experienced in a while. Though it was all for Alaric, who, apparently, had taken to sparring after school on Mondays with the other two Slayers in town: Sidney, and another teacher at the school named Carson West.

While the two of them were good, they would, in the end, be no match for Klaus and his followers.

Sidney relied much on the element of surprise, and quick, final moves to combat her lack of force in the face of stronger opponents. A long, hard battle would ultimately end in her defeat. And Carson, though skilled with all manner of weapons, was getting on in both age and weakness.

Klaus was introduced to Sidney's boyfriend and the eldest of the Salvatores, Damon, that night. He could not say that he was a fan.

Perhaps Damon and Klaus were too similar to like each other, both of them arrogant, obsessive, bitter, and disparaging in their own right. Though Sidney tempered Damon to an extent, Klaus found him too sardonic and abrasive for his own good. Klaus looked forward to killing him.

The Bennet witch, the Lockwood werewolf, and all three human lackeys, (Jeremy Gilbert, Keeley Saltzman and Matt Donovan) had all been encountered and subsequently dismissed over the course of the day. The witch was too easily angered, the wolf too self-centered, and all of the humans laughably weak.

No, Klaus was not threatened by the supernatural community of Mystic Falls, but they should feel very threatened by him.

"What the _fuck_ , Ric?"

The blonde who had been glaring at him from the other end of the bar had finally worked up the nerve to approach him, it seemed.

Without waiting for Klaus to reply, she barreled on, "You do realize Keeley hasn't stopped crying since this morning? What did you say to her?"

 _Ah._ Caroline Forbes, then.

The baby vampire had been a foot note in Anastasia's briefing, only important due to her position as one of Klaus's sacrifices. Caroline was the supposed "mean girl" of Mystic Falls, though this, apparently, had not been the case since her turning. The more Klaus pressed down on the town, the more Caroline clung to Elena's group. By all accounts, Caroline was sassy, bright, smart-

"Don't you dare ignore me!"

-and blessed with a fiery temper.

Klaus groaned into his beer before turning to her, and snarking, "Listen, Caroline, what I did or didn't say to _my daughter_ is none of your business-"

"It is when she's crying so hard she almost throws up," Caroline insisted. "It is when Stefan and I are too worried about her to leave her alone. I mean, how could you? How could you?"

"Very easily," Klaus replied testily, maybe a little annoyed. He had more important things to worry about than the Saltzman family dynamic. "Isobel- was my wife, Caroline. You don't understand."

Caroline snorted at him. He fought the urge to rip her throat out. Not until the day of the sacrifice.

"Yeah, well, Isobel was also Keeley's mom. And she killed herself. Like, right in front of her. _Her daughter._ You acting like a child isn't really helping anything."

"Well, you actually being a child isn't helping anything, either," Klaus shot back. "So, do you actually have anything of substance to say to me, or are you going to continue screaming like a banshee?"

Caroline rolled her eyes and harrumphed. She fixed Klaus with this s _earching_ look, face softening into this bright, other, impossible, starlight and sunshine thing. He couldn't breathe for a moment.

"She's hurting," Caroline explained softly. "Neither of us like that, so please, _please_ don't do what you did last time- don't run now that things are hard. She needs you."

Klaus didn't care about Keeley. He didn't care about Caroline, either, but at the girl's request, he wanted to run back to a daughter that wasn't his and comfort her over the death of a woman he hadn't loved.

"I will stake you," he spluttered. "I have one in my jacket. I'll use it."

Caroline rolled her eyes again and rose. "No, you won't. Just- Call Keeley, or something, alright? Or better yet, come home."

Klaus watched her leave, and maybe, just maybe, a little part of him was starting to wish she hadn't been chosen as a sacrifice.

* * *

"I can't believe you're not going to Prom- I just can't believe it! _Senior prom_ , Sidney!"

It seemed like no one could believe it, but Sutter just wouldn't let it go.

I sighed around my straw. "I know," I mumbled, running a hand down my tired face, probably smudging my mascara in the process. "Trust me, I know, but I just… forgot, I guess. To get a dress or a ticket or make the plans and- I mean, it's tomorrow night, Sutter. Game over. Too late. My fault for getting so distracted. And besides, Damon's not really a high school dance kind of guy. And neither am I, really."

Sutter gave a disbelieving guffaw, arms crossed over her chest. "Bullshit," she scoffed. "I know you and your best friend broke up, but- _Senior Prom_ , dude!"

"Little harsh, Sutter," Colin said from his seat next to me at the lunch table. I had taken to eating with my friends again in the past couple of weeks. "Too soon."

Sutter glared at him and tossed her curls over her shoulder. "Whatever," she drawled. She scowled and took a harsh chomp out of her sandwich. "I just don't think Sid should have to miss out on anything else this year, is all."

I quirked a grin and laughed. "No worries," I told her, even though I was a little sad about skipping Prom. "It wasn't much fun last year, anyways. The music sucked."

"I know!" Corbin put in. Angelica, who was napping next to him, jumped up and looked at all of us with bleary eyes.

"I got the good DJ this time. The one who did the 50's dance, not the one from homecoming," Corbin continued, rolling a can of Coke over to Angelica, who cracked it open and started chugging.

Madison watched her with raised brows and commented; "Coach is going to kill you for drinking soda."

Angelica paused, wiped her mouth, said; "Don't care," and continued drinking. Sutter and I both laughed, joined soon by Corbin. Angelica had been more tired than I had ever seen her that day, falling asleep at the drop of a hat. If anyone needed the caffeine, it was her.

"Little sister alert," said Corbin, wagging a brow at Elena, who hurried up to us with a troubled look on her face.

I stood immediately. "What's wrong?" I demanded. "Why is your face doing that thing?"

She glowered at me. "It is _not_ ," she insisted, making a point of composing herself. "I just… Did you know Bonnie and Jeremy were a thing?"

" _What_?" I shrieked. And then, taking in my friends' faces, I leaned in and whispered, "What the hell? When- How- _Why_ did that happen?"

Angelica had this strange expression on her face as she crumpled her Coke can. "Elena," she said before I could demand more answers. "I've been meaning to talk to you today. There's something I'm supposed to tell you."

If Elena was confused one of my friends was talking to her, she didn't show it. They didn't interact that much. "Okay, what's up?"

"Your friend Klaus wanted me to ask if you if you could save him a dance at Prom."

* * *

Alaric and Carson were both in Carson's classroom when I slammed the door open. I had spent the past half hour calming Elena down and making sure she was safe with Stefan, Caroline and Keeley. And now? Now, I was pissed.

"Klaus is gonna fucking die," I seethed, throwing the door to a smacking shut.

Carson rose from his chair. Alaric had been looming over him, but now, both men came striding up to me.

"What's wrong?" Carson demanded.

I explained what had happened, and the three of us searched the school for suspicious figures. To no one's surprise, Klaus was already long gone, and we ended up back in Carson's office again. I was too jittery to sit, though. Klaus had been _taunting my sister,_ and now, I needed to _do something_.

"Call Anastasia out of class," I demanded, teeth clacking and chattering together. "Get her in here, now."

Carson sent me a confused glance but grabbed the landline on his desk and started dialing. Alaric was staring at me in scowling consternation.

"What do you think getting _her_ in here is going to do?" he dug.

I was biting my lip so hard I tasted blood, but I released it long enough to answer; "Send a message."

Honestly, I was debating just punching her in the face again. This time, though, I figured things should be clearer, and she hadn't been the one to terrorize Elena, even if Anastasia was working for the monster who had. This time, I needed to do something far more terrifying: Use my words.

Anastasia looked reasonably frightened when she slipped through the door, though her eyes blew wider with fear when she saw me. Anger building in my chest, I stomped up to her, fists clenched and shaking at my sides. She covered her face with her hands and cringed away from me.

"You tell Klaus," I growled, "to _back the fuck off._ He's not allowed to do the mind-games thing. He's not allowed to talk to Elena, or send her messages, or dance with her at the fucking prom- _What the fuck?_ " I took a deep breath before continuing; "If he wants to touch Elena Gilbert, he's going to have to go through me. I will kill him if he gets near her. Make _sure_ you tell him that."

Anastasia's eyes flitted nervously up at my face, and then at the two men standing behind me. She nodded stiffly before scurrying back out the door like the rat she was. I stood and stared after her. My chest heaved up and down with anger.

"That," Alaric said after a moment, "was either very stupid or very brave."

* * *

Sometimes it was just impossible to not be jealous of Elena. This was one of those times.

She was painfully beautiful in a silver dress just as ethereal as she was, her hair straightened and pulled out of her face, and her lips painted with blood red lipstick. I was nearly in tears helping her get ready for Prom. She found me very annoying, but let me snap a million pictures of her, anyway.

The doorbell rang at half past six, and I helped Elena down the stairs to make sure she wouldn't trip. If Klaus didn't kill her tonight, the heels certainly would. But when Elena jerked the door open, the person staring back at me wasn't who I thought it would be.

Damon, dressed in a tux, smirked and thrust a handful of azalea at me. "Will you go to Prom with me?"

There was a long moment where I couldn't say anything. Caroline and Bonnie, standing behind Damon with Stefan and Keeley on either side of them, started squealing. Elena turned and whacked me hard on the arm.

"How?" I finally asked. "Ho- _How_?"

Damon rolled his eyes and said, "Elena convinced me it would be romantic. Is it?"

I was about to cry. I was actually, seriously, about to cry. _What even?_

"Yes!" I choked, and then I flung myself at him.

After sitting through a minute or so of Damon and I making out, the girls dragged me off of him and up the stairs to my bedroom, where Elena had laid one of Mom's old dresses over the bed. It was my favorite: a midnight blue, tulle number with golden stars sprayed all over it. Mom had worn it to her first Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

Caroline teased and pinned my hair as quickly as she could while I slipped on my basic black heels and borrowed a clutch from Elena. After a moment of hesitation over whether to bring my gun or not, I was strapping my stake to the outside of my thigh and hurrying back down the stairs.

Both the dinner and the drive to the dance passed in a surreal sort of blur. Damon was obviously uncomfortable with the situation, though I was so grateful he had done this for me I sated him with excessive kissing, hand-holding, and dragging him into bathrooms and broom closets for make out sessions. Stefan's presence helped things, too, and once we joined with my friends, who were waiting for us at the restaurant, Damon fell into an easy sort of flow with Corbin and Colin.

"I still can't believe you did this," I said as we made our way down a hallway to the gym. "Like, I seriously can't believe it. You hate teenagers."

Damon rolled his eyes over to me, brows raised, and tightened his grip on my arm, tucked around his. " _You_ are a teenager, Siddie."

"But not, like…" For lack of a better term, I bit my lip and waved a hand over at Angelica and Madison, who were bouncing around a less-scowly-than-usual Sutter. "Like a _teenager_ teenager, you know? You don't do the high school dance thing- you stay away from this building as a rule unless there's vampire bullshittery about."

"But you do, do the high school dance thing," he informed me. "Or, at least, I know you want to. High school only happens once- unless you're Stefan. And you're graduating in, like, two weeks. You deserve to enjoy this."

I couldn't help but smile and tip my head up for a kiss. We pulled away after a moment and handed our tickets (illegally given to us by Caroline) over to the eager sophomore manning the booth.

The room itself was decked out with a million twinkle lights and generally-star-themed decorations. I could feel the base pulsing through the floor boards, but the song wasn't repetitive hip hop, rather something pop-y I had heard playing at the Grille lately, by Katy Perry, I thought. Corbin and Caroline had done a great job, and I was happier to be at Prom than I had at any other Mystic Falls event, ever. I would never, ever forget what Damon had done for me.

"There is some vampire bullshittery afoot, though," he admitted, leading me around the perimeter of the dance floor. "With Klaus."

I sighed deeply, the sound lost in the din from the other students. "I'm not surprised. No worries. I'm happy to be here, anyway."

Damon quirked an apologetic grin down at me and pulled us to a stop in front of Alaric, who cut an uncomfortable figure in his suit, but waved at the two of us and said, "You make a cute couple."

"We're well aware," Damon joked. To me, he said, "Klaus told Elena he would be at Prom, right?"

"He implied as much," I said with a frown.

"Well," Alaric picked up, "Bonnie said she can probably kill him, that she's got enough power to do it. So, we're waiting for him to show up, so she can finish him off."

"How?" I asked suspiciously. "And why wasn't I told about this earlier?"

Alaric and Damon shared a commiserating, knowing look, and it was Alaric who answered; "Elena figured you wouldn't let her come to Prom if you knew she had volunteered as bait. And Bonnie didn't want you to try and stop her, because she says there's a chance she could get killed doing this."

"What?" I demanded, and then when Damon cringed away from me, I turned on him. " _What_? No. _No_."

"Siddie-" Damon tried.

"No, Damon! If there's even the slightest chance Bonnie could die, we're not doing it. I'm not sacrificing anyone," I insisted.

"You're being unreasonable," Damon told me. "This is war, there're going to be casualties."

"No," I said stubbornly. "Not if I can help it. Bonnie's not doing this."

Alaric, who had been watching us with this long-suffering look on his face, put in, "She did say it was only a chance. And that she's gotten a lot stronger. I'm for it."

I assessed him warily, biting hard on my lip and ignoring the fact that there was probably lipstick all over my teeth now. Alaric was as much of a friend-mom as I was, and usually just as concerned about the group's personal, individual safety. Bonnie must have been pretty certain of her abilities to be able to convince him to let her do this.

"She's sure?" I asked warily.

Alaric nodded, and I reluctantly let Damon drag me onto the dance floor as one of our favorite slow songs came on. I scowled up at him, still biting my lip. He grinned weakly and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Does the Bonnie-thing cancel out me bringing you here?" he asked as we began to sway in time to the music.

I thought for a moment, arms sliding up to encircle his neck. "No," I finally decided. "I'm still grateful. And I love you a whole lot. But no more secrets, please."

"No more secrets," he said quickly. "I'll promise if you do."

I chuckled softly. "I do," I promised, letting my cheek press against his chest.

Even though we had been to more dances, dinners, and other social events together than I could count, this was the first time we had been able to dance together for- Well, a long time. Since before I knew about vampires. And while I usually hated dancing, mostly because I sucked at it, especially the slow kind, this was alright. Feeling his heart pounding through his suit against my ear, and his arms wrapped tight around me, I felt calm in ways I hadn't for a while-

And then, predictably, everything fell to shit.

At the end of our song, a fast one started playing, one that my peers apparently recognized and liked, because the crowd turned into one, big, screaming frenzy. Damon paused for a moment and took in the grinding and dirty dancing that surrounded us before turning back to me with waggling eyebrows. With lots of laughter, we copied as best we could, and at the end of the song, Corbin took the stage.

"How's everybody doin' tonight?" he bellowed into the microphone.

As the crowd roared around me, something about Corbin caught me off guard: His smile. Not the usual, crooked, sly one I was used to, or the fake, too-toothy smile he gave when he was in his "Student Body President" persona. This one was limp and weak, barely showing his teeth but pushing his dimples up to his eyes grotesquely. It was… off.

"This next song goes out to a very special girl," he continued. "Elena Gilbert, Klaus says that this one is for you."

Ice shot through my veins. Damon and I both stiffened. The beginning notes of "Every Breath You Take" by the Police drifted out of the speakers. I felt a strong urge to behead something.

"We should…" Damon began.

"Yeah," I growled, and the next second, he had disappeared to find Elena.

I prowled the circumference of the dance floor, desperately searching for anything even slightly out of the ordinary. After a moment, Corbin appeared in front of me, blinking the daze out of his eyes. He chugged the flask he kept in his pocket, waving off my concern, before heading off to spike the punch. I allowed myself a brief moment of pride for him.

Elena was nowhere on the dance floor, and Damon didn't seem like he was having any luck finding her at any of the tables around the room. Stomach plummeting, I left the gym to search for her in the rest of the school. She wasn't in the girls' bathroom or the cafeteria, or even in the courtyard. But when I made it to the stairwell up to the second floor, I found something worse.

I found Jeremy.

And Sutter and Madison, who were attacking him in a flurry of snarls and fingernails, shrieking with sick glee as they did. Jeremy caught sight of me and yelled. I snapped out of my daze and rushed forward, seizing Madison around the waist and tossing her away from my brother.

When Sutter turned to me, she hissed. Her eyes were glassy. She had been compelled.

"Fucking Klaus," I muttered, and then I clocked Sutter across the face.

While she was down, I seized Jeremy around the arm and dragged him to the door of the stairwell.

"I really need to teach you and Elena how to fight," I told him, hands slipping as I forced the door open. "If this is our lives now, you two need to know how to fight."

Jeremy spat blood away from his mouth, gasping, and nodded. "I'm okay with that," he said, and then I shoved him out into the hallway and he took off running.

Sutter and Madison were both up and ready to fight when I turned back around. Before either of them could lunge, I pulled my skirts up around my knees and kicked out, sending Madison straight down the stairs to the next landing. I heard her head make a clang against the metal of the staircase and turned on Sutter.

She seemed unbothered, but I knew, if she was really herself, she would have been screaming and running after Madison. This lack of recognition in my friend made me flinch from a sudden rush of anger. I leapt at her and buried my fingers in her hair, smacking her up against the wall and throwing her forehead into it.

Madison was groaning at the bottom of the stairwell, and when I stepped away from Sutter, she stumbled back, a dark bruise forming on her brow.

"Wha' happened?" she slurred, eyes widening when she saw Madison.

Both of us clambered down to help the other girl, and I replied, "You and Madison fell. Too much of Corbin's tequila, I'm guessing."

I escorted them to the nurse's station, though my hands were shaking as I did. Jeremy was there, too, having Band-Aids applied to his scratches. He sent me a nervous glace when I entered.

I left after dropping off Madison and Sutter, only to be met by a haphazard Elena, who was running barefoot down the hallway.

"Elena," I gasped, seizing her around the shoulders and pulling her to a stop. "Elena- Oh, oh my God, where have you-?"

Elena shook her head, heaving large gulps of breath, and batted my hands away, putting hers on my bare shoulders. "Bonnie," she panted. "Go help Bonnie. She's fighting Klaus- he's in Alaric's body- Go- Sidney, _go help her_!"

My ears started ringing, and I was running again.

It wasn't that hard to find out where Bonnie and Klaus were. The emergency lights were going berserk, lighting a pathway of flickering bulbs to the fight, sparks flying over my head as I ran. My heels were left abandoned in my wake, and I yanked my stake out from under my skirt.

Bonnie and Alaric-Klaus were fighting in the study hall, Bonnie already with a bloodied nose. I could see her eyes rolling up into the back of her head. Alaric-Klaus was laughing, teeth stained red, and the grotesque sight stopped me in my tracks.

His eyes flashed over to me, and he grinned still wider. "Sidney," he belted, " _finally._ I've been looking forward to fighting you."

Bonnie's body convulsed. Her chest tipped up to the ceiling, back bending impossibly, and I tackled her down, ignoring the pained, breathless laughs coming from Klaus. How badly was this hurting Alaric?

"Bonnie," I whispered to the lifeless body in my arms.

"Get up, Sidney."

"Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie."

"I'm _waiting_."

"Please, be alive."

"I thought you were going to kill me."

"Please, please, please, be alive."

"Was that just a lie?"

Bonnie's eyes were fluttering open and shut, but there was still no answer. Heart thundering, I set her down and rose, balking at the sight of Alaric-Klaus. I couldn't look at my friend. I had to look at the monster.

"Is Alaric alive in there?" I ground out, hands tight around the stake.

Klaus sent me a bloodied, toothy grin, and shrugged. "Hard to say. You do know that won't do much good against him, right?"

I bit my lip hard. "It will if I stab hard enough," I grumbled.

"But you don't know if Alaric is still alive," Klaus warned, not sounding like he cared all that much. "If you hurt his body, he might be able to feel every little bit of it."

"I hate you," I spat. "You've managed to make me hate you in a really short amount of time. I'm pretty sure that's a new record."

"I'm honored."

"Fuck you."

I threw myself at him. He batted me aside like I was nothing, and I felt my back slam against one of the study tables. Before I could get my feet back on the ground, Klaus was looming over me.

"And here I'd worried you'd actually put up a fight," he mocked, teeth bared.

I glanced hopelessly over at Bonnie's limp form, breaths frighteningly short, and screwed my eyes tightly shut. "You killed Bonnie."

"As a matter of fact, she killed herself. But I'm willing to take the credit."

"You won't kill anyone else."

I swung my knee up, making contact with his groin. He woofed out a pained gasp, but before he could do any more, I shoved him off me. I punched him hard across the face. While he recovered, I swiped with the stake, leaving a wide gash across his cheek.

The momentum from the swing flung the stake back around and bashed Klaus's forehead. He fell with a clatter. I tackled him and straddled his chest, hitting until I felt blood under my fists. I blew the hair out of my face to see Klaus laughing up at me.

"There she is," he cooed.

I was flung back off f him. The force threw me, rolling across the floor, knocking the breath out of me. Fingers curled around the neckline of my dress and I went flying again. A sickening, jarring jolt travelled from my chest up to my nose, which collided hard with the wall.

Before I could push back away, Klaus was at my back. His hands grabbed a wrist each and forced my arms behind me uncomfortably.

"Drop it," he hissed in my ear, squeezing hard on the arm that held the stake. "Drop it before I break your wrist."

"No," I hissed into the wall.

The fingers tightened painfully. I could literally feel the bone quivering, about to snap, and before I could stop it, a grunt of pain left my mouth.

"I said drop it, sweetheart."

Gasping, sick, I shook my head and heaved, " _Fuck_. _You_."

Klaus wrenched at my arm. My shoulder went "pop" and I _couldn't._ I s _creamed._ And I kept screaming until two more voices joined mine, and the agonizing hand left my arm.

Clutching desperately at my injured shoulder, I turned to see Bonnie had risen and was shrieking, convulsing, blood pouring from her mouth, nose, and eyes. Alaric's body thrashed on the floor, sparks flying around him, Klaus's yells howling from his throat. The sparks grew brighter and brighter until suddenly they glowed like a supernova, and I had to turn away.

When the darkness came back, and everything went quiet, I looked again.

And Bonnie was dead.

Klaus caught his breath, groaning, and rose to his feet. He peeled an eye open and observed me with a clinical sort of detachment, before sneering and turning away. He surveyed Bonnie's body.

"She really was powerful," he concluded. "Shame she's dead, isn't it?"

I choked, horror clogging my throat.

Klaus winked and made for the exit. "I'll see you soon, Sidney, sweetheart. Take care until then."

* * *

Elijah's body was as unchanged as ever. In the weak light of the Boarding House's cellar, he looked disturbingly like a male, modern Snow White. If it weren't for the dagger sticking out of his chest, the scene would have been a peaceful one.

I grabbed the hilt and tugged it free.

There was a gasp and a flutter of breath, and suddenly Elijah's eyes flew open. He hissed at the air and bolted. I followed him outside at a more sedate pace, not surprised at all when a talloned hand wrapped around my throat and pinned me to one of the porch columns.

"You betrayed me," he spat.

"I know," I whispered, strangled by something far more dangerous than he was. "I'm sorry. I'm _sorry_."

Black blood penetrated the veins around Elijah's eyes. I should have been scared by the sight, but all I felt was numb.

"' _Sorry'_ doesn't cut it. You _broke_ our deal. You tried to kill me."

I sobbed drily, the breath shaky and high as it came out. "I know. I know, I know, I know. You were right. You were right; I should have listened to you!"

Elijah let me fall. I sank into a pile of ripped skirts and tears, dislocated shoulder throbbing from the violence. Elijah watched me impassively, but his face was still a monster's.

"Yes, you should have."

I forced myself to calm enough to speak and said to his shoes; "I met Klaus tonight. I fought him. He killed Bonnie. He killed one of the kids."

"I told you he would."

"He's too strong for me," I breathed, tears tracing old paths down smarting cheeks. "I can't fight him on my own. I was so, so _stupid_ to think that I could, and now, _Bonnie is dead._ "

Knees bent, and Elijah crouched down to watch me. A cold thumb wiped away the wetness on my face, and I stared up at concerned, entirely-human-looking features. "And what do you expect me to do about it?"

I squared my shoulders and swallowed down air.

"I'll do it," I told him quickly. "I'll make another deal… I'll die for Elena."

* * *

 **A/N: Bow, chika bow wow. There you have it, folks! I really enjoyed getting to write Klaus, especially with Caroline. They're my favorite ship- I probably would still watch** _ **Vampire Diaries**_ **if it had focused more on them- or just on Caroline. She's my favorite of the original crew. Anywho, we are at the home stretch, here! There's only two, maybe three chapters left to go, but until then, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review if you feel so inclined!**

 _ **Next time:**_ _As the final pieces of Klaus's ritual fall into place, the Scooby Doo gang rush to find a way to stop it as Sidney falls further into self-destruction, and Damon begins to realize just what she and Elijah are planning._


	15. Final Stand

**The Slayer Diaries  
Chapter 15: Final Stand**

Elena listened to Elijah and Klaus's backstory with a remarkable sort of calm. She didn't bat an eye at any of it, though I'd shocked her by bringing Elijah home in the first place. The only explanation I'd offered had been; "We need his help." Something in my face must have convinced her.

"So," she said after a long while, "everything you told all the others… That was a lie. This is about Klaus- and me needing to die for him."

"You aren't going to die for him," I hastened. "We're going to make sure of that."

Elijah chimed in from his perch on Elena's window seat; "We've a fool proof method of saving your life. If you drink a certain potion within twelve hours of death you'll come back after, right as rain. But, as the ritual itself involves more than one sacrifice, we've decided to only use that as a last resort."

I felt numb at this statement. No fear, no sadness, only this sort of cold resignation for what would happen. Oh, I knew Elijah and Damon and all the others would fight to keep Elena- or me, rather- from dying, but I wasn't a fool. I knew how this would end.

Elena thought she knew. I could see it in the hardness of her mouth, in the way she pushed the heavy curtain of hair out of her face. "But it's more than just me involved in the sacrifice," she clarified, "right?"

"A werewolf and a vampire must die as well, yes," said Elijah.

No problem for Klaus there. Mystic Falls reeked with the damn creatures.

A painful flash of gunmetal blue eyes and sardonic smirk rippled through me. I squashed it down. Klaus wouldn't be stupid enough to try and sacrifice one of the Salvatores. Damon was safe, but I still couldn't tell him anything. He couldn't know what I was planning until it was over.

Elena nodded and hugged her legs up to her chest. "I'd like to be alone now."

Elijah and I exchanged a glance.

"Please," she added after a moment.

Elijah nodded and exited posthaste. I hesitated, glancing at Elena's huddled form, too small in the moonlight, and planted a kiss on her forehead before following. Elijah leaned against the stair banner. He stared at me as I closed the door behind me, pressing my hands against it for a long moment before I was ready to speak.

"She took that well," I finally said.

Before he could reply, the front door slammed open. I signaled for Elijah to wait in my room before rushing down to the entry hall. Jeremy leaned against the foyer table, toeing out of his dress shoes, blood smeared across his tux.

He grinned tiredly when he saw me, and bubbled; "Bonnie's alive."

My stomach bottomed out and I felt myself drop to the floor, head between my knees. "She is?" I gasped. "Oh God, _she is? How?_ "

"Faked her death," Jeremy breathed. He crumpled down next to me and threw a sweaty arm over my shoulder. "She didn't tell any of us because she doesn't want Klaus to know she's alive. Says she can try and stop the sacrifice on the magic side of things."

"God friggin' bless Bonnie Bennett," I sniffed out.

We sat there for a few minutes in a stunned, happy, tearful silence. The relief was flushing through me in a tidal wave, and I could have vomited out all the sick, all the guilt that Bonnie's fake-death had caused me.

But even though this was a nice reprieve, the fight wasn't over yet.

"I'm glad she's okay," I finally mumbled, "but it's been a long night. You should get some sleep, bro."

Jeremy rolled his eyes, though it lacked his usual malice. "Sure thing, Mom," he mocked, and then tromped up the stairs.

I kept my seat for a long moment, watching him go. The silence was heavy around me. The house was dark, and if I didn't know who was upstairs, I would have thought it was empty.

I had lived in this same house, in this same town, for all my life. As a kid, I had longed to escape from it. As a teenager, I hadn't applied to a single in-state college. But now, it seemed very likely that I would die here.

My eyes went to the family photos lined up on the wall, untouched since Mom and Dad had died- and, oh, there were me and Dad. The time he had taken me to the gun range with him and shown me how to shoot. Even back then, I had believed so fiercely that my dad was the strongest, most loyal, most loving man alive. I would be damned if I didn't follow in his footsteps.

I wondered if dying would hurt.

I eventually wandered back into my bedroom, where Elijah waited, flipping through my acceptance packet from NYU. I watched him for a while. I felt nothing.

"I'm glad Bonnie is alive," Elijah said after a moment.

"Me, too," I replied. "Doesn't change anything, though."

"No, I suppose it does not."

My phone buzzed on my desk, right next to Elijah's hand. He tossed it over to me, and I caught it, knowing who it was without looking.

"Hey, Damon."

" _I've been worried sick! Where the hell are you?"_

"Home. I needed to sort some things out."

" _How fast can you get to The Grille? Klaus attacked your aunt."_

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

* * *

It took more like fifteen minutes, but by the time Elijah and I got to The Grille, Klaus was long gone, and Damon was livid.

"What the fuck?" he cried when Elijah walked through the door. "What the fuck?"

"What the fuck, indeed," said Matt in a heavy tone of voice. He sat at the bar next to Jenna, pressing a cold compress to her bleeding forehead. He motioned for Jeremy to close the door to the empty restaurant behind us.

Elena bustled over to Jenna and began fluttering about in an emotional, caring blur. Jeremy sauntered over much slower, while I stayed behind, pinned by Damon's glare. Elijah held his ground at my shoulder.

Stefan cleared his throat and asked; "Elijah, why are you here?"

With a long-suffering sigh, Elijah provided the same, heavily-edited explanation we had given Elena. When Damon and Stefan still seemed unconvinced, he then told the story of the Original Vampires and the true origin of the Curse of the Sun and Moon. When Elijah finished, Stefan seemed disgusted.

"So, this isn't even an end-of-the-world thing?" he bit out. "Klaus wants to sacrifice Elena so he has fewer migraines? Is that it?"

"Essentially," Elijah agreed.

"Hold on," Jenna finally spoke up, coming out of her confused daze. "Who is trying to sacrifice Elena? Who is this Klaus person?"

I choked on my breath as I looked at her, at the betrayed, burning stare that covered her face; at the still-bleeding gash across her forehead.

With a long pause to breathe, I ventured; "I'm guessing you realize that vampires are real by now?" She nodded, and I continued; "Well, the Salvatores are vampires. Elena and I found out earlier this year. And Dad and Uncle John knew-"

"Everyone knew," Jenna insisted, voice rising to a worrying pitch. "Everyone knew but me. Jesus Christ, Sidney, _I'm supposed to be the adult_."

"I know," I reasoned, hands coming up and pushing out at her. "I know. I know you are but I didn't tell you to protect you-"

"I'm supposed to protect you! _Not the other way around!"_

"I didn't-"

"No, you really didn't, Sidney. You didn't think. You didn't trust me! You don't just go off on your own and risk your life like that! We are a family! We go through shit like this together!"

I stared at her, unable to comprehend. Something hot and tar-like was rising in my stomach. Here I was, about to die to protect my family, and I was getting in trouble for it.

What the hell?

So, I said; "Okay. Fine," and left it at that.

"Not fine," Jenna was mumbling under her breath. "Definitely not fucking fine, Sidney." But she whirled on Elijah and the Salvatores and said; "How are we stopping this Klaus person from killing Elena?"

"I did, in fact, just tell you how we were going to do that," Elijah grumbled.

"No, in fact, you really didn't," Jenna mocked back. "You told me how we were going to bring her back to life afterward. You aren't traumatizing my niece like that. She's been through enough already. That's our last resort, so what else have you got?"

Elijah's eyebrows kissed at the top of his forehead like two angry caterpillars, but he bit out; "Your nieces and their friends have already tried to kill Klaus multiple times, but seeing as he is in Alaric's body, that hasn't worked very well. This leaves us with the options of disposing of either the witch performing the sacrifice or of the vampire and werewolf who are also to be sacrificed."

"Do we even know who that is?" I reasoned. "There are so many vampires, witches, and werewolves in this damn town-"

"Language," Jenna chided.

"-that we'd have to perform a mass genocide to keep Klaus from finding one before the night of the ritual."

"Leave that to me and Damon," said Stefan. He turned to Elijah and stuck his hand out. Elijah stared at it. "I think we owe you an apology for trying to kill you. Thanks for helping us."

After a long moment of hesitation, Elijah shook Stefan's hand.

"Speak for yourself," Damon scoffed at the bar. His arms were crossed firmly over his chest and he positively simmered in anger. "I'm not doing this."

"Damon-" I tried.

"No," he spat. He wouldn't meet my eyes. "No, Sidney. There's more to this little partnership than you two are telling us, and I'm going to find out what you're hiding." He was staring hard at Elijah, who didn't flinch or look away. "I will find out what you're planning. And I will stop it. I don't trust you."

"I realized that," Elijah responded calmly, "thank you."

Damon growled and stormed out of the building.

* * *

The last time Anastasia had gone on a field trip, it had been to the Richmond Natural History Museum when she was fourteen. Sidney had dragged her over to the Antebellum exhibit with a ferocity Anastasia had found vaguely frightening. As the two girls weaved their way through the crowd, Anastasia had caught sight of a stuffed mountain lion.

Its jaws were stuck open, revealing a set of sharp teeth that gleamed under the museum lights. Fierce, glass eyes glared out at the world, and muscles rippled beneath the blond fur. Even in death, the mountain lion had been the biggest predator in the room.

Klaus's body was like the mountain lion.

The words of the restoration spell washed over Anastasia in a wave of murmured Spanish. She shivered and hugged her knees up to her chest. Beside her, Katherine watched on, her jaw tightening to hide her fear.

Anastasia's father spared her only a few glances as he helped Klaus's witches with the ritual. Anastasia counted the number of times he looked back at her: four, exactly. All of them cursory, more to make sure that she hadn't run away than anything else. Part of her wanted to. Anastasia hated that part of her.

When Klaus's own, amber eyes flickered open, they focused on Katherine, first. Anastasia felt more than saw the vampire flinch. But then Klaus was grinning at her, and Anastasia was flinching, too.

"Hello, love," the Original purred.

And then he leaped at Anastasia's father.

The alchemist screamed as Klaus's fangs clenched deep into his throat, and it was only Maddox's arms around Anastasia's waist that kept her from yanking Klaus off her father. The vampire lifted away from the other man's throat, blood painting his mouth and neck a savage red. Oscar Graham's body fell to the ground with a thud.

"Well," Klaus modulated, "that was dramatic."

He swept back into the house, Maddox and Katherine following in his wake. Anastasia crawled over to her father's body. She pressed fingers to his ravaged neck and found a steady pulse.

"Dad," said Anastasia desperately. "Dad- Dad, please get up. Come on, open your eyes."

With a deep groan, Oscar Graham did so, and two, matching pairs of baby blue eyes shared a long glance.

Her father sat up. "We're leaving town as soon as this over," he explained, gaze fixed on the stars instead of Anastasia. "I'm thinking London. There's a good market for alchemists there. Once we've got the money, I can open up a shop and stop doing things like…" He stared at Alaric's abandoned body lying in the grass. "Things like this. I can stop working for people like this. And there are good music schools in England. You can- can be alright. We just need the money, 'Stasia."

Anastasia felt a large, painful lump growing in the back of her throat. "Alright," she wheezed. "Alright."

* * *

The morning of my high school graduation, I woke up and immediately hopped in the car with Elena. We headed to the Boarding House for breakfast and a team meeting. Both of us were still in our pj's when we crowded around the dining table. Damon shoved a steaming mug of coffee in my hands and threw an arm over my shoulder.

"Alright, gang," he drawled as I sipped, "Elijah's awake."

"Shit," said Keeley.

"How?" Caroline asked.

I grimaced, the bitterness of the coffee thick on my tongue, and stumbled out; "It was me. I took the dagger out after I fought Klaus. He's too strong for us."

There was a business-like rap on the front door. Damon rolled his eyes as Stefan went to answer it. "Speak of the devil," Damon complained.

True to form, Elijah waltzed into the room after Stefan…

Followed by Alaric Saltzman.

I was up on my feet and leaping at him in a heartbeat. Beside me, I saw Caroline grab Elena and tow her out of the room, while Damon was up next to me, ready to fight.

Stefan's yell stopped us; "It's Ric! Klaus is out of him!"

I stumbled to a stop, Damon slamming into my back, and at Elijah's nod, I straightened.

Damon was grinning as he embraced Alaric. "Glad to have you back, man."

I heard a soft sniffle from the table and turned to see Keeley with tears in her eyes, her mouth trembling around a sob. With a cry, the girl threw herself at her father, and we all filed into the living room to give the two of them some privacy.

"I found him in the Graham family's backyard," Elijah explained while we waited. "He's weak, but he should be alright. Klaus, however, is walking about in his own body once more. We must be on our guard from now onward."

I felt myself nod. The door to the dining room swung open and Alaric and Keeley entered Keeley with noticeable tear-tracks on her cheeks and her father's arm over her shoulder.

"The sacrifice happens tonight," Alaric announced once they had settled. "Klaus wanted me to tell you."

My heart stopped. I could feel the color draining out of my face, and something sick twisted in my stomach. Everything, absolutely everything, was silent and still.

Elena swallowed. "Alright," she said. "So, today's all we've got left."

* * *

Caroline left first, followed by Keeley and Alaric. Elena and I stayed behind, and Stefan, Damon, and Elijah pulled her aside to talk self-defense. I grabbed my phone and headed for the kitchen.

The line rang maybe three times before I heard someone pick up, and a kind woman's voice answered; _"Hello. New York University registrar's office, this is Doctor Heller, how may I help you?"_

I choked on my breath for a moment. My heart thrummed up and pushed me to respond; "Hey. Um, so- My name is Sidney Elizabeth Gilbert? I'm, um, I'm an incoming freshman for the Fall semester?"

There was a quick smattering of typing. _"Yes, I've got your file pulled up right now. Are you having trouble accessing your student account on Banner web?"_

"No," I said. I shook my head and said again; "No, no, um- Actually, I- I wanted to…"

" _To what, Miss Gilbert?"_ Doctor Heller sounded a little annoyed with me now. The knowledge straightened the line of my shoulders.

"To turn down my spot at the school next semester. I'd like to withdraw."

Silence. Bile churned and rose up in my stomach.

" _May I ask why?"_

"I… don't think it's going to be possible anymore."

" _We have a wonderful Financial Aid program, Miss Gilbert. I'm looking at your transcript right now, and I can recommend you to try out for a soccer scholarship."_

"No. No, it's not about the money. I can pay the tuition. That's not it."

" _Family issues?"_

A dark chuckle shook out of my throat. "I guess you could call it that, yeah," I joked.

" _I see. Well, if everything calms down in time, I can hold your acceptance until this upcoming Spring semester. If you're sure you won't be able to join us this Fall, that is."_

"I'm sure," I said finally. "Thank you, Doctor Heller."

" _No problem, sweetheart. I hope everything works out."_

"It will. I'll make sure of it."

The phone line went dead, and then, only then, did I let myself break down.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Damon listened with a pained grimace as Sidney sobbed. Elena wasn't fairing much better where he had left her with Elijah and Stefan, but Damon knew that Sidney- Sidney more than anyone else- needed him today. If they failed, Sidney was going to take it the hardest.

But from what he had heard of her conversation with the NYU woman, it didn't sound like Sidney was going to let them fail. Even if it meant she lost her life.

Sidney wasn't planning on surviving that night.

Damon's feet carried him back into the living room and leaned him against the door frame. He made eye contact with Elijah over Elena's weeping head. At a jerk of the chin, Damon and Elijah were stomping out into the yard. Damon's fists shook with rage.

"What do you have planned with her?" he demanded the moment they were out of earshot.

Elijah slipped his hands into the pockets of his suit, swaying from foot to foot. "I find myself unsure what you're speaking of."

"Bull fucking shit," Damon spat out. The chuckle that slipped out of him was a dark thing, full of the violence he had been storing inside him. "I overheard Sidney turn down a spot at her dream school because of 'family issues'. We both know why. I don't know how she's planning on martyring herself for Elena, but I know you do. And you're going to tell me."

"Am I?" said Elijah with a small smile.

"Yes, you are," Damon insisted. "Because if you don't, I'll start jumping to conclusions. And trust me, buddy, no one wants to see that happen. You may have forgotten, but you aren't the only dangerous one around here."

Elijah surveyed him. "You really do love Sidney, don't you?"

"More than anything," Damon replied fiercely.

After a long moment of staring, Elijah turned on the heels of his oxfords and sauntered back up to the Boarding House.

"Unleash hell, then," he called back over his shoulder. "I look forward to seeing what you do."

* * *

A knock on my bedroom window interrupted me mid mascara-swipe. When I turned, I wasn't surprised to see Damon hanging from the roof, knee tapping against the glass with each swing. I got up from my desk chair and opened the window, letting Damon swoop past me into the room.

"Hey," I said, though he had yet to move up out of his landing position. He crouched on the rug like the crows he so loved to summon, eyes glinting with the kind of fire I didn't miss seeing from him.

When he didn't say anything, I took my seat again and continued to apply mascara, though with more trepidation.

"Did you come here to watch me primp?" I joked lamely. "Because you're a bit late. I'm pretty much done."

I saw in the mirror that Damon was standing behind me, suddenly his hands on the back of my chair.

"Siddie."

I raised a brow, that cotton-like sensation in my chest. "Yes?"

"Sidney."

"We've established that you know my name by now, Damon, what? What is it? Why are you here?"

It was no surprise when he jerked the chair around so that I was facing him and glared down at me. Spiteful, apologetic, I stared right back.

Damon's mouth quirked down at the ends in horror. "Please," he whispered, "please, please tell me that you and Elijah aren't planning something that will get you killed."

"No," I replied, "we aren't."

" _Bullshit_!"

His hand went through the mirror over my desk, and glass came raining down around us. I found myself glad everyone else was waiting for me downstairs. The last thing we needed was an interruption.

I forced my breath to come out slow and steady like I did on the soccer field when the other team would rush at our goal. Once I had enough, I reasoned; "Damon, what do you want me to say to you?"

"I want you to tell me that you aren't going to die tonight!"

"Well, I can't do that!" I hissed at him, teeth gritted. I flung myself up out of the chair, pushing him back as hard as I could. When he didn't budge, I jerked over to the still-open window, clenching my fingers around the frame. "I can't tell you that, Damon. I can't tell you anything without this going to shit, alright? Tell me it's alright!"

Long, cold fingers slid across my jaw to my cheek. Damon tried to force me to turn to him. When I refused, he dragged those fingers up to twine in my hair.

"It's not alright," he hissed into my ear. "Nothing about this world is right without you in it. And I'm refusing to let you leave it."

Danger shot through my ears and speared my brain like an arrow. Now, when I tried to turn my head, the fingers in my hair clamped down and wouldn't let me turn an inch.

"Don't," I breathed through a dry throat.

Damon said nothing, but a bleeding wrist appeared in front of my eyes. My jaw clenched, and I renewed my struggles, giving a pained shriek when the hand left my hair and returned to my cheeks, pressing my lips open.

"I'm sorry," Damon whispered as the wound entered my mouth and tainted blood trickled down my sputtering throat. "Oh, God, Siddie, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Please, please forgive me for this, but you can't die. I can't lose you."

 _No,_ my dad's voice seemed to say in my brain. _No, no, no!_ _ **NO!**_

My hands, which had been scratching at Damon's arms, went beneath my dress where my stake was strapped to my thigh. Before I could swallow any more of the blood, I ripped the stake out and buried it in Damon's hand. The limb thunked on the window frame, trapping him against the wood. While I had the chance, I lunged forward and stuck my fingers down my throat. By the time Damon had gotten himself free, I was already throwing up his blood onto the grass below.

There were voices downstairs and a clattering on the staircase.

Damon stared at me watering, endless blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he said once again.

I gazed at him. My brain was in a free fall, desperately searching for something to cling on to, but there was nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

"I know you are," I told him.

Jeremy slammed my door open, and Damon was gone.

* * *

Caroline's eyes flickered open, and she sat up with a groan, only slightly bothered by the shackles about her wrists. She'd been kidnapped.

Again.

Shocker.

It happened much too often these days.

"Care," a rough voice whispered across the room from her. "Care, are you alright?"

 _Oh._ Tyler was chained to the wall opposite her, his eyes that telling yellow. _Oh no._ It was the day of the full moon. _I'm a dead girl walking._ How had he not bitten her face off?

Caroline cleared her throat, wishing desperately for one of Stefan's blood bags to assuage her thirst. Wishing desperately for _Stefan_ who was on his way to rescue her, right?

"Tyler," she tried, "where are we?"

He screwed his eyes shut and grumbled deep in his throat at the sound of her voice. Caroline eyed his chains warily, hoping they were short enough to keep him away from her. She knew from experience that the shift changed him in more ways than one, made him crave her screams, her terror.

"Anastasia Graham's house, I think. Her dad was in here not long ago," Tyler mumbled, still not opening his eyes.

Caroline may not have been a genius like Keeley, but she still had a 3.6 _thank you very effing much._ She knew that if an alchemist had kidnapped her and Tyler the night of a sacrifice- a sacrifice that required a vampire and a werewolf...

Well, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why they were taken.

"Shit," said Caroline. "Shit, shit, shit. Fucking shit."

Tyler's eyes flew open, yellow glaring at her through the dim light of the tool shed Caroline was pretty sure they were being held in. ""Fucking shit' _what_ , Caroline?"

Before Caroline could reply, the door flew open. Damon Salvatore stood silhouetted in the afternoon sunlight. He held a decapitated head in his hands, his face painted with blood.

"Holy hell," Caroline whispered.

Faster than she had ever seen him move, Damon threw the head aside and used a blood-stained key to remove Caroline's shackles. She surged up, giving him a wide berth as she rubbed her wrists.

When Damon tried to do the same for Tyler, the werewolf gave a warning growl. Damon drew back, scowled, and _roared._ Tyler flinched against the wall, giving Damon time to lean in and undo the cuffs. But before Damon could pull back all the way, Tyler snapped out.

And for the first time ever, Caroline saw Damon Salvatore flinch.

"He didn't bite you," Caroline breathed as the two vampires dashed out of the shed, "did he?"

Damon sneered after Tyler, who had shifted and bolted into the nearby woods. He cradled his left wrist, allowing her to see the ugly-looking bite mark on his forearm.

"Not a word of this to Sidney, got it?"

Caroline nodded "Got it."

* * *

There was a suffocating cloud of happiness at graduation. I felt distinctly out of place among my exuberant classmates. My stomach still rolled at the thought of Damon, at the thought of Elijah, at the thought of _Klaus._

Once all was said and done and I had moved my tassel to the left side of my hat, we processed out of the football field and into the courtyard. I was corralled for pictures by my friends and smiled as convincingly as I could until I just couldn't take it anymore. With my family nowhere in sight, I slipped off the stupid hat and ducked into the school, basking in the relative quiet of the empty hallway.

Or, at least, I thought it was empty.

Someone cleared their throat from the other end of the corridor. I turned, expecting Elijah, only to spy a muscled, blond man with cutting brown eyes and a smile I would recognize anywhere.

With a cock of his head, Klaus motioned for me to follow him into another hallway, and after a split second of deliberation, I did.

"So, this is what you look like," I ventured.

Klaus raised a brow at me. "Shocked?"

"A bit. Thought you'd be taller."

He gave a chuckle that sounded more like a bark and draped himself over a locker. "Seen your little boyfriend at all today?"

A dart of ice shook through me and melted into a sickening, cold sensation in my stomach. "Yes," I replied. "Why the hell do you care?"

Faster than I could breathe, Klaus had me pinned to the bank of lockers by my throat. My head slammed into the metal with a harsh 'clang', and black spots sprayed across my eyes as blood rushed up to my nose, suffocating me. Klaus's lips were right up next to my ear.

"Your pet vampire killed my witch and beheaded my alchemist," he hissed. "Now I'm forced to rely on a much less powerful little girl. He released my sacrifices and left a decapitated head on my front lawn. What am I supposed to about that, hmm?"

I choked, the last of the breath leaving my lungs.

Klaus shook me hard. My head banged against the lockers again. "That wasn't a rhetorical question, lover."

"Go- _fuck_ \- yourself," I wheezed.

"I should turn you," Klaus mused, sounding horrifying and serious. "You'd make a lovely vampire. Then I could sacrifice you along with your sister. Would you like that, lover?"

"I wouldn't," an exaggeratedly calm, terrifyingly familiar voice said from the end of the hallway.

Jenna stood there, fists shaking where they hung at her sides. My stomach plummeted as Klaus dropped me, and I could only watch, aghast, as he approached my Aunt. I was wracked by a coughing fit as he circled her, assessing.

He shrugged. "You'll do."

I forced myself to my feet, staggering forward, hand going for my stake for the second time that day-

But I was too late.

Klaus was gone in a sliver of a second.

And he had taken Jenna with him.

* * *

Klaus had left a dark, almost perfect imprint of his hand around my neck. Jeremy stared, shell-shocked, at the deep bruises while Elena sobbed against my shoulder.

Stefan wore a track around the Boarding House's living room. Uncle John, who had re-appeared in time for the shit to hit the fan, lacked his usual, all-knowing smirk. I hadn't given him my customary punch, hadn't had the heart to. Damon positively simmered in shadows while Alaric punched at the mantle. Elijah watched us with ill-hidden disgust.

As usual, I broke the silence. "What do we do now?"

"We kill him," Alaric spat, pulling his bleeding knuckles away from the fireplace. "We find that motherfucker and we kill him. We save Jenna and Elena."

Stefan nodded, looking glad to have something to do, and hastened; "I'll go get Bonnie. She'll know something that can help us find where Klaus is having the sacrifice," and sped out the door.

Elena heaved another sob. I made eye-contact with Elijah over her quivering head, and with a jerk of his chin, I followed him to the dining room. Damon watched us go with burning eyes, Uncle John with curious ones.

"We haven't much time left," said Elijah in a voice so quiet my human ears could hardly hear him. He pulled one of those miniature, Dasani water bottles out of an inner pocket in his jacket and handed it to me. It was half-full, the seal on the cap already broken. "Make sure she drinks this. Your half of the potion is in the cabinet under the sink."

Suddenly, the tears I had so lacked came rushing to my eyes. I blinked the hot wetness away and nodded. When we re-entered the living room, Damon and Uncle John still watched us.

I approached Elena again, who had managed to stop crying and now stared, unseeing, at the carpet. She lifted her head when I stood before her and gave a pathetic attempt at a grin.

"Here," I said, thrusting the water bottle at her. "Drink this. You've been crying a lot."

Elena whispered her thanks and chugged the bottle without a second thought. As I watched her, Uncle John watched me. Damon had disappeared from his chair, while Jeremy and Alaric spoke in hushed tones next to the fire.

Once Elena had finished every drop, I forced a smile and headed for the kitchen, heart in my throat and knees shaking. The world was a blur. And then Damon stopped me in the dining room.

I withered back from him, bile rising in my throat. "If- if this- If you're going to try to…" I choked, fisting shaking hands in the skirt of my dress. "Don't. _Don't_."

"I'm sorry," he gasped, hands twitching as if resisting the urge to embrace me. "I'm so sorry, Siddie. I- I need you to be _safe_. I need you to be _here_. And I always end up making things _worse_."

For the first time since the night he discovered Katherine was still alive, Damon Salvatore began to cry.

What was left of my heart shattered.

I stared at him, at this beautiful, broken man who loved me more than anyone had ever loved anything before. And God help me if I didn't love him back. I loved him with the kind of love that was dangerous, that was overwhelming, that caused me to do crazy, ridiculous things like run into burning buildings and get stabbed by vampires.

And what I was going to do tonight was going to hurt him worse than he'd ever been hurt before.

"I forgive you," I breathed. "Of course, I forgive you, Damon."

He sobbed and grabbed me, burying my face in the junction between his neck and shoulder, and the two of us shook together. I heard him murmuring something into my hair, too quiet for me to make out, and I melted into him. I was all too aware that this was the last time we would ever hold each other.

"I _love you_ , Damon Salvatore," I whispered fiercely. "No matter what happens, I will _always_ love you. Never forget that."

"Never," he repeated back to me. " _Never_."

We would have stayed like that forever if there hadn't been a sudden, awfully feminine scream from the yard.

As one, Damon and I dashed outside, my bare feet slapping painfully against the gravel of the driveway. We made it out in time to see Klaus looming over Elena like the angel of death. Jeremy lay, unmoving, on the ground, a dark gash on his forehead gleaming in the moonlight.

Damon's arms came around me before I could run toward them.

"Elena!" I screamed. " _Elena_!"

"Don't come after me, Sidney!" she bellowed back, letting Klaus pull her up against his chest. "Whatever you do, don't follow!"

" _No_!"

They disappeared into the night.

* * *

 _ **Next time:**_ _The necessary death of Sidney Gilbert._


	16. The Necessary Death of Sidney Gilbert

**The Slayer Diaries**  
 **Chapter 16: The Necessary Death of Sidney Gilbert**

"Go wait inside," Damon barked down at me. He released me from the cage of his arms and I stumbled to the Boarding House. "I'll get Bonnie and Stefan. Don't worry. We'll get her back."

He was off like a shot into the night. I staggered into the house, to the kitchen, and down to the cabinet below the sink. My knees hit the ground with a painful bang. The small Dasani water bottle sat next to the dish soap. The seal was broken, and the bottle was fuller than Elena's had been.

"You need to be sure to drink all of it."

I jumped, glancing up at Elijah with too-wide eyes, and nodded. I unscrewed the cap and chugged the potion. It tasted no different from water but sat heavy in my stomach.

"You're doing a brave thing," said Elijah after a moment. I shook my head at him.

Someone rapped their fist against the door frame. I turned to see Uncle John leaning there, a look I couldn't recognize on his face. He stared at me until I stood up.

"The Salvatores and your witch friend are back," he told me. "I'll stay here with Jeremy. Go get Elena."

Elijah and I ran to the front of the house where Alaric, Bonnie, Stefan, and Damon were. Damon grabbed my hand when he saw me, while Bonnie sent me a sad grin. She handed a piece of paper to Stefan. As he folded it, I realized that it was a map of the hiking trails around Mystic Falls.

"Come on," Damon whispered down to me.

He towed me out the door and to Stefan's big Jeep, swinging me up into the passenger seat when we reached it. He climbed into the driver's side and started the ignition. Stefan, Alaric, and Elijah piled into the back.

"What about the kids?" I asked as we roared onto the road. "And Jeremy?"

"Your uncle is looking after them," Alaric replied. "Bonnie said she'd take a look at Jeremy's head. Caroline and Keeley are on their way over. They'll be safe."

"Oh," I said, and then there wasn't anything else left to say.

The ride to the site was a tense, quiet one. Still in my graduation dress, I shivered in the night air, feet bare and bleeding. While I still had time, I slipped the stake out from where it was strapped to my thigh. I didn't know if I would have the chance to use it, but it was best to be prepared.

The Jeep screeched to a stop in a copse of trees not so different from any other group of trees in the forest. But through the gloom, a fire blazed. While Alaric and I unbuckled ourselves, Elijah, Damon and Stefan rocketed toward the light.

And then Stefan screamed.

I had already been running, but at that sound, I sprinted like I never had before. My heart dropped into my stomach. My blood went pounding through my ears. And when I finally burst into the clearing, I let out a noise so inhuman, so loud, so painful, that I couldn't believe it had come from me.

Elena and Jenna were dead.

"No," was all I could whisper. "No, no, no, no, _no_."

I collapsed between their bodies, not sure who to go to first. Both necks were ravaged. Their blood made pools on either side of me, and my shaking hands dipped through them. I had to make sure they were real. I hadn't thought bodies even had that much blood in them.

At a crude stone altar, Klaus had Anastasia pinned by her neck. Blood was smeared across the gaping hole of his mouth, and he grinned sharply down at Anastasia. He plucked a silver goblet from her hands. With one hand, he chugged what was in the goblet. With the other, he broke Anastasia's neck.

Klaus flung her body over the altar. It hit the ground with a sickening crack, right at Elijah's feet. He stared down at her with a sort of detached disgust.

"Brother," said Elijah.

With the self-satisfaction of a fat house cat, Klaus licked the blood from his lips. His fangs glinted in the firelight. "Brother. Long time no see."

"I won't lie," Elijah admitted. "I have missed you."

Behind Elijah, I saw Stefan jerk in shock. Damon, who stood over Stefan's shoulder, hissed; "What? What are you doing?"

Klaus smiled a dangerous smile and extended a red-stained hand. "Then join me. Help me assemble my army."

"Don't," Alaric growled. He was crouched over Jenna's body, hands cradling her unresponsive face. "Don't you _dare_ , you _fucker_."

Elijah raised his chin and strutted to Klaus. Together, the two Original Vampires made for the tree line.

Unbidden, I felt myself croak; "Elijah. _Elijah_!"

He stopped in his tracks, shoulders a firm, tense line.

"Please don't," I whispered, sure he could hear it. "Don't betray _us_ **.** "

Elijah turned, searching for something in my eyes, and upon finding whatever it was he was looking for, he nodded. He and Klaus disappeared into the night, leaving us with the wreckage they had made of our lives. It was quiet but for the crackling of the bonfire, and overhead, the full moon shone with silvered indifference.

* * *

Somehow, we got the bodies to the Boarding House.

I wasn't sure how long Elijah's potion would take before it killed me. Every breath could have been my last, and I clutched Damon's hand with a vice grip. I was waiting to hear a sudden gasp of breath from the backseat, to hear a heartbeat stutter back into life. But for a long time, there was nothing.

And then, Elena's eyes fluttered open in the living room.

Keeley and Caroline both screamed though Keeley was the only one who fell over. Alaric and Bonnie had more sedate reactions, but Stefan buried his face in his hands and burst into tears. Damon's jaw dropped, and he turned to me.

"How?" he growled.

I ignored him and tackled Elena in a tearful hug, my entire body heaving with relief.

"You're safe," I whispered into her hair. "Oh God, _you're safe._ "

Elena's confused, weak arms embraced me back. "Am I a vampire?"

I couldn't help but laugh. I shook my head, brushing tears from my cheeks. "No. No, you're not a vampire."

Damon grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. "What did you do?" he demanded.

"Elijah and I made sure you would live," I told Elena, trying to ignore the way Jeremy was staring at me.

"But how?" Damon pressed.

I ripped away from him and scrubbed furiously at my tired eyes. "You remember that potion we talked about?" I asked Elena. At her nod, I added; "There was another part to it. One we didn't tell you about."

"What?" Jeremy asked. He scratched an errant tear from his cheek. "Sidney, what?"

"If both of us drank it, and one of us was killed, the other one would die instead."

Elena's face fell. I could see her heart shatter. "Oh, no," she breathed. "No, Sidney, no. _Why_?"

I smiled weakly and took her hand. "It's my job to look after you." With another glance, I took Jeremy's shaking hand. "Both of you. I wasn't going to let you die, and there was nothing-" I couldn't look at Damon without breaking, voice quivering as I continued- " _Nothing_ that _anyone_ could have done to stop me."

And then, from behind me: A thud.

When I turned, Uncle John's body lay prostrate on the floor. Caroline and Elena both screamed while Jeremy and Bonnie gave loud shouts. My jaw dropped.

Keeley burst into sudden, breath-stealing tears. "He- he told me," she gasped. "He told me to give this- to you when he- he…" She took a glance at the body and sobbed again. With quivering tears, she pulled a folded-up piece of paper from her back pocket and handed it to me.

Jeremy and Elena drew impossibly closer to me. Jeremy's arm was a warm support around my waist that anchored me as I read.

 _Elena, Sidney, and Jeremy:_

 _First, I must apologize for not being near as much as I should have after your parents' death. I have neglected my role in your life. I should have been the one to take care of you, to provide for you and protect you in these most trying of times. Though this night was inevitable, I am guilty of not preparing the three of you for it as I should have._

 _I came back to town with the intention to do all that I could to save you three and your aunt. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to save her, and for that, more than any of my other sins, I will be damned._

 _I knew even before I arrived in Mystic Falls that Sidney would find a way to keep Elena alive, the only question was how. So, when I saw you acting so suspiciously earlier this evening, I followed you. I overheard your plan with the Original Vampire. From there, it was a simple matter of finding the elixir and drinking it myself. If anyone is going to die for this family, it will be me._

 _You will find that I have divided all my assets between the three of you. Please use the money to give your aunt the funeral she deserves. Sidney, you needn't fear that Elena and Jeremy will be separated from you, as I have named you their sole guardian._

 _Please know that everything I have done, I have done to protect you._

 _Your Uncle,_ _John Gilbert_

* * *

The stars in Mystic Falls were always so beautiful.

I hadn't been to many other places, but the stars could never compare to the view from home. My sleepy little town left so few lights on that the night sky was always allowed to take center stage. Millions of ice white chips of diamond glinted down at me where I sat on the porch swing of the Boarding House.

Tomorrow, I would have to organize a funeral. Tomorrow, I would feel guilty. Tomorrow, I would have to understand that Jenna and Anastasia and John were dead. But tonight? Tonight, I was still alive. And tonight, it was me and the stars.

And Damon, who walked onto the porch and immediately draped himself across me. His arms wrapped around my waist; his face buried itself in my stomach.

"You almost died," he mumbled into the fabric of my dress. "Sidney, you almost _died_."

All the emotions I had been holding at bay came flooding into my at once: The despair, the resignation, the overwhelming terror of my death. It hit me with the force of a train. My shoulders crumpled in on themselves and I fell around Damon, watering eyes clenched tightly shut and face hidden in his silky hair. I began to weep. My breaths came out hard and fast and gasping, and I felt Damon tense on my lap.

He sat up and pulled me into him. "But you survived. You're still here."

"I know," I hiccupped. "But I was so- I was _so scared,_ Damon!"

He held me for a long time. The deep midnight of the sky had faded to a gray lilac, and the last of the stars were winking out. Birds chirped sleepily in the endless forest. Somewhere, people were waking up to go to work or take care of their children. A new day was dawning, and I was still alive to see it.

When my weeping had calmed to sniffles, Damon nudged my chin up and planted a kiss on my nose.

"Please promise me you won't try to do that again," he pressed.

I bit my lip. "I can't do that."

Damon's brows pinched together. "Siddie-"

"No, Damon," I insisted, pulling away from him. His hands clung stubbornly to mine. "If- If something happens with Elena again, if something happens with Jeremy or Stefan or _you_ \- I'm still going to go out of my way to protect you, even if it means I don't make it in the end."

"I need you to understand the value of your own life," he insisted.

"And I need you to understand that it's _my life_ , and that means it's mine to sacrifice for my family if I need to," I shot back.

We stared each other down, both of us unmoving. His hands tightened around mine, almost to the point of pain, before softening. He huffed through his nose and grinned.

"Have you thought about leaving Mystic Falls then?" he asked.

"What?"

"Just leaving," he continued, turning to watch the sunrise. His hands left mine. My palms felt cold. "You're still going to NYU. You could take Elena and Jeremy to New York. I'd follow you, and Stefan would follow me. We could all get a house or an apartment together. No more vampire bullshittery. Just… Us. Living."

And God, I could picture it. Breakfast in dusty sunlight and nighttime conversations on the roof, watching the city. Photo shoots and exploring the nooks and crannies of a new city. Coffee shops and new friends and Elena and Jeremy and Stefan. And me and Damon, living happy and free of danger.

I wanted that so bad.

And now, I could have it.

So, I nodded and said; "Okay. Yes. Yes! Come to New York with me in the fall."

* * *

Jenna's funeral was a somber affair. She would have hated it. She had always joked with me that she wanted to put the "fun" in funeral when it was her turn. She didn't want any of us wearing black or crying; all she wanted were bottomless margaritas in her name.

The reality was: Elena wanted to organize the funeral because organizing kept her sane, and I didn't have the heart to tell her no. The result was a somber, proper affair. There were lots of tears and almost all the Mystic Falls soccer moms. Jenna would have died again from laughter if she'd been alive to see it.

Elena was silently weeping the whole hour. Jeremy let out the occasional sob, tears leaking from his eyes and mouth clenched into a tense line. He held onto my hand so hard there were imprints from his nails on my palm when the funeral was over. I watched as Alaric broke down over the course of the service until his face was in his hands and Keeley had to escort him back to their car. But I didn't cry. I was the only one who didn't cry.

Elena, Jeremy and I stayed behind once the service was over. We watched as the graveyard employees shoveled dirt over Jenna's coffin. It was a monotonous but entrancing thing to observe, and Jeremy and Elena's sobs washed over me, lulling me into a buzzing stupor.

Eventually, we had to go to the wake. Caroline had helped us get food and drinks to the house, which was already full of well-wishers and generally nosy assholes. Elena turned on the Southern charm while Jeremy immediately locked himself in his bedroom. Stefan and Damon were there, both looking uncomfortable in dress shirts and nice pants. They trailed me as I made the rounds through the house, though Stefan broke off when we ran into Keeley and Caroline.

In the end, as always, it was me and Damon.

When the wake was finally over, we locked ourselves in my bedroom. He stood by the window, paler and quieter than usual, while I puttered around, packing at a slow, tired pace. The room felt too small, suddenly. The colors were muted. The ceiling was low.

It was clear to me now that I had outgrown this place: That all three of us had. And without Jenna, there was no reason for us to stay here.

"Ready to go?" I asked Damon, soccer bag slung over my shoulder. When I turned, he was staring out the window. His mouth was strung into a tight line, brows pinched together. "Dude. You okay?"

Damon shook his head and grinned. "Yeah, I'm fine. You have anywhere to be tomorrow?"

I bit my lip. "No…?"

"Good." He pushed the window open and extended a hand to me. "'Cause I'm not letting you leave my bed for the foreseeable future."

I let out a light chuckle and took his hand. My dry, tired eyes slipped closed as he pulled me up into his arms and the world rushed around us. The events of the day weighed heavy on me, and I debated asking if we could soak in his huge tub for a while. I needed rest and kisses and to not think about Aunt Jenna or the future for a while. Damon was right about me not leaving his bed, but if he thought it was because I wouldn't be sleeping for the next three years, he was dead wrong.

When the world stopped moving, we were in Damon's bedroom. He set me down, and I caught a wince cross his face as he did.

"What?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

"Okay," I said, dubious. "Any chance we could use that unreasonably large tub of yours?"

He gave me an eyebrow wiggle, albeit a weak one. "The tub isn't the only unreasonably large thing I have."

I snorted and smacked his arm, unsure if the flinch he gave was a joke or not. "Shut up. I know. Show me how to fill it?"

"Still haven't figured out my plumbing?" Damon teased, leading the way into the bathroom and fiddling with the knobs on the tubs.

"There are a lot of things about you I haven't figured out."

Damon chuckled and unleashed a stream of steaming hot water into the tub. As he adjusted the jets and added bath salts and bubble bath, I toed out of my shoes and let my dress drop around my feet. Cold, piano-player fingers traced up the knobs of my spine. I shivered as Damon unclasped my bra and let it fall. The same, ice-cold digits brushed my panties off my hips, and I obligingly stepped out of them for him.

Damon's lips fluttered across my neck. "Come on," he mumbled.

When I turned toward him, the sight of his face made me stumble away. All the blood had drained out of it, giving the skin a sickly green tinge. The veins around his eyes were painted black, and the orbs themselves were an angry green. His lips were blue.

"Damon," I whispered, hands flitting up to trace the smoky lines beneath his skin. "What happened to you?"

He smiled thinly and shook his head, trembling hands reaching up to lock around my wrists. "It doesn't matter."

I pulled back. "Okay, interesting concept- except, _yeah,_ it does. What's going on?"

When Damon didn't answer, my hands went to his shirt. I ripped it apart, buttons popping as I did, and jerked it off of his shoulders. His right forearm bore an inflamed bitemark, the skin around it green and dripping with pus. I had only ever seen a bite like this once before.

On Rose.

Damon had been bitten by a werewolf.

The air grew very thin. The room swirled around me. The only thing I could see with any clarity at all was Damon's bite-mark.

"Oh, no," I breathed. "How?"

Damon bore his teeth at me in what I thought might have been an attempt at a smile. "Tyler. I didn't move fast enough when I saved him the day of the sacrifice. Tried to hide it from you. Had enough on your plate."

For the second time that day, I felt the urge to weep. "Oh, why? Damon, _why_?"

This time, he did manage to smile, and my heart shattered. "Anything to help you."

* * *

I tucked Damon into his bed, trying to ignore how shallow his breaths sounded. His eyes slipped closed, and I knew he was out- for a while, at least. It wouldn't be long before he went berserk like Rose did and tried to kill everyone in sight. I didn't intend to let the poison spread that far.

After dressing, I knelt at Damon's side and pressed a gentle kiss to unresponsive lips.

"I'll save you," I whispered against his mouth. "I promise."

With one last, lingering look at his pale form, I left.

The road to the Graham house was a familiar one, though not one I had driven recently, and never in Damon's Mustang. But I knew that if there was a cure out there, Oscar Graham would have known about it. And everything Mr. Graham knew was in a grimoire somewhere in that house.

When I stepped out of the Mustang, my sneakers made an ominous crunch against the gravel driveway. The house loomed in the night. Welcoming light had changed to cold darkness, the black windows gaping into a building that had housed the biggest monster I'd ever faced.

The sound of the door opening echoed throughout the entire house. The interior was a labyrinth of shadows, and the scent of burnt flesh hung heavy in the air. I tried not to think about why the house might smell like that.

I knew Anastasia and her dad had kept their grimoires in a small room off of the foyer. The study was lined with bookshelves, each one over-stuffed with spell books of all shapes and sizes, most in languages I didn't understand. But it didn't matter. I would read every one, stay there for hours if I had to. Anything to save Damon.

When I opened the door, though, it was to see Katherine Pierce.

Katherine Pierce stuck to a chair with wooden stakes through her thighs.

She grinned at my look of shock and purred, "Surprised to see me, Sidney dearest?"

My jaw clenched. "I was kind of hoping Klaus had smoked your ass," I admitted. "How in the hell are you still alive?"

"She is alive," a voice said from behind me, "because I'm not done with her yet."

I blinked, and Klaus's hands were around my throat. I blinked again and he had me pinned down on the couch. He was straddling me, legs vices on either side of my waist, and for a long moment, I couldn't breathe.

"This is a familiar position," Klaus said with a wolf-y grin.

"Too familiar," I grumbled back.

Klaus gave the most patronizing eye-roll I had ever been subject to and snarled, "Why are you here?"

My breath caught in my throat, and, to my acute embarrassment, my eyes grew hot with tears. I shoved at his hands until they fell off of my neck. I should have been surprised that he let me sit up, but at this point, all I felt was numb.

"Damon was bitten by a werewolf," I explained curtly. "I was hoping to find…" Klaus's eyes were molten coals, burning at my face. "I can't lose anyone else."

Klaus watched me. I watched him.

"What would you do," he began, "if I told you there was an antidote?"

With no hesitation, I replied, "Anything."

Klaus grinned again and stood. As I watched, he wandered over to the mantle and tapped his finger against a picture of the late Graham family. "I knew you would say that," he lead. "I admire that about you, Sidney. That loyalty of yours. It's so hard to find, especially in such abundance. Devotion like that deserves appreciation."

Something sick and cold was climbing up my stomach to my chest. It bubbled and spurted out; "Why are you telling me this?"

Klaus spun and shot me a too-friendly smile. "I'll be leaving Mystic Falls tonight," he explained. "I'll be on the road for a while, creating my hybrids. A long journey like that… I could use some company."

"Oh, no," I whispered. "No. No, you can't be serious. You killed my aunt. You killed my _sister- my best friend. You can't be serious._ "

"Dead serious," said Klaus.

There was a split second where his body was just a blur, and then another before he appeared before me again, a glass from the kitchen in his hand. He took a nail and pressed it into the blue vein on his forearm. A steady stream of blood trickled into the glass. When it was half full, the wound closed, and Klaus set the cup on the coffee table.

"Little known fact," he quipped. "My blood is the only antidote for vampires bitten by werewolves. I can have Katherine bring that to your lover boy and fix him up, right as rain. But…"

" _But_ ," I breathed, the world spinning around me.

" _But_ , you have to leave town with me. Become my right-hand man- or woman, I suppose, if you prefer that title. I've told you before you'd make a lovely vampire. That, I wasn't lying about. I'd have to turn you."

I couldn't keep sitting, had to leap to my feet and pace. I had to keep moving, because if I didn't- if I didn't… I don't know. But I had to do _something_ besides _sit there_ and _listen to this-!_

Damon.

Damon's life was on the line here.

And so what if I was a vampire? So what if I was stuck with Klaus for decades, centuries, millenniums, even? I would be an immortal. And I would find a way back to Damon, and back to my family. No matter how long I had to wait.

So I said, "Okay. Okay, I'll do it. Just _save him, please._ "

If it was possible, Klaus's smile grew even wider. He practically bounced over to the coffee table and picked up the glass with a bellowed, "Katerina! Get in here!"

With a groan, Katherine appeared, her legs still impaled with the wooden stakes. Her eyes glazed over me with curiosity before landing, fearful, on Klaus.

"What?" she asked.

Klaus handed her the cup, though his eyes stayed fixed on me. "Take this to Damon Salvatore," he instructed. "Make sure he drinks it, and do be sure to tell him not to try and track down Sidney here. She'll be assisting me for the foreseeable future."

Katherine turned to stare at me, eyes wide, and there was a glimmer of something like respect in them.

"He's in my bedroom," I informed her. "You're already invited into the house. _Please,_ Katherine."

She nodded and took the cup. Before she left, Klaus seized her lapis lazuli necklace and yanked it off. With one last glance at me, Katherine sped away, silent for the first time since I had known her.

I hated her less, now. There were bigger monsters in my life these days.

Still smiling, Klaus rocketed right up next to me. He was so close, I could smell him. Maybe I was beginning to lose it, but I thought I caught a whiff of Jenna's blood.

I was breathing so hard I was almost suffocating as Klaus bit into his wrist. The blood oozed out, deep and dark and awful looking. He presented the wound to me.

 _Be strong, Siddie,_ Dad's voice seemed to whisper in my ear. _For just a little longer, honey, be strong._

I pressed my lips to the bite-mark and began to drink.

When I had taken enough to satisfy him, Klaus cradled my face in his hands and pressed me away. He gave me a comforting smile.

"It's as easy as falling asleep," he assured me.

And with a twist of his hands, I was dead.

* * *

When I came to awareness, I could hear the cricket on the windowsill. I could hear the family in the house next door; the father reading the little girl a bedtime story, the mother's heartbeat and the low whine of their TV. I could hear the dog barking down the street and the radio of the car at the stoplight outside the neighborhood.

I could feel the stillness of the blood in my veins, the scratch of the carpet against my ice-cold cheek. And the harsh burning of the ring on my finger.

My eyes flew open with a harsh gasp as I pried the piece of metal off. I hissed at the angry red burn the blessed silver had left on my finger.

There was a deep ache in my mouth, and when my hands flew up, I found a pair of fangs there. My eyes flitted about the room, taking in the motes of dust, the deep, crystal light of the stars through the window, and the sheer majesty of the predator watching me in the corner.

Klaus was still smiling, even as he tossed a blood bag at me.

As a human, I wouldn't have been able to catch the movement, but now it was easy. As easy as seeing Jeremy throw an apple at me or as easy as dodging a soccer ball that was flying at my head. My hand shot up of its own accord and snatched the blood bag out of the air, gentle enough to keep it from bursting.

My fangs throbbed, and I felt something dry and heavy leach into my under-eyes.

"Is this…?" I gasped, eyes fixed on the blood bag, hungry. "I need to drink this to complete the change. That's how this works, right?"

Klaus nodded, gaze locked on my face. "Drink it, Sidney."

With a deep, guttural groan, I did.

Drinking blood… As a human, I hadn't been able to understand it, understand the addiction of it. But now… It threw everything into a beautiful, incredible, otherworldly focus, the whole universe condensed around the lifeblood in my mouth. It was warm and fulfilling, bringing a desperate heat to my cold veins. I couldn't tell you what that first blood tasted like, but it filled that desperate, dead emptiness in me, and that's all that mattered.

When I was done, Klaus tossed something else at me: Katherine's lapis lazuli necklace. My hands shook as I fastened it around my neck.

"Is that it, then?" I whispered, sudden sadness washing heavy over me. I hadn't realized; my emotions would be much stronger. "We're leaving now?"

"Naturally," said Klaus with a sneer. "I can't stand staying in this podunk little town for much longer."

It was funny, I thought as I followed Klaus to an Impala parked in the driveway. I had dreamed of leaving Mystic Falls my entire life, but I had never thought I would be leaving like this.

I wasn't really living, only watching myself as I climbed into the car with Klaus, as I fastened my seatbelt and watched him start the engine. As we pulled out of the driveway and further out of the neighborhood. As the lights of the town that I loved sped past the windows.

As we pulled past the city limits and into the dark unknown, Mystic Falls a beacon of light behind us.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, shit. It's over. Well. I think I started this fic during the first semester of my freshman year of college. Back then, I thought that I was just an actor and that this was sort of a side thing to keep me entertained between shows. Now, I'm a performed playwright who's just finished my sophomore year and is double-majoring in Acting and Creative Writing. I turn twenty tomorrow, and I'm doing the things I only dreamed of when I first started this series. I've grown a lot, and I'd be lying if I said this story hadn't inspired a lot of it.**

 **I want to give a huge thank you to all of you for reading this story, and for supporting me and Sidney on this journey. You've changed my life in a major way, and I am so, so blessed that you've chosen to read this. Thank you, thank you, thank you.**

 **Stay tuned for information about** _ **The Monster Diaries!**_


	17. Q and A with Lil

**The Slayer Diaries  
Q and A with Lil**

Helooo friends! In honor of the end of this installment and in preparation for the next, I will be answering some commonly asked questions here, as well as giving you some sneak peeks into our next fic: _The Monster Diaries_! Let's do this!

* * *

 **What celebrity do you see playing Sidney?**

This is one of the most commonly-asked questions that I get, and I'm usually not able to give a great answer, because there are, like, zero actresses with Sidney's freckles. But the closest fit is Lyndsy Fonesca of "The Young and the Restless" and "Kick Ass" fame, only with a lot of freckles.

 **What songs are on** _ **The Damsel and Distress Diaries**_ **soundtrack?**

Sidney's song: _She-Wolf_ by Shakira

Damon's song: _Iris_ by The Goo Goo Dolls

Sidney and Damon's song: _Rose's Theme_ from the _Titanic_ soundtrack (because it's just as angsty and overdramatic as they are, lol)

Sidney and Klaus's song: _The Devil and the Huntsman_ from the _King Arthur_ soundtrack

 **Will Sidney ever have a relationship with someone besides Damon (IE: Klaus and/or Elijah)?**

Short answer: No, not really.

Mason and Sidney's one-night stand was the only time we will ever see Sidney having _sex_ with someone who isn't Damon. There was a three-way planned between Sidney, Damon, and Klaus at some point in the very first drafts of this series (lol don't ask, I started this series at the tail-end of puberty), but that just doesn't make sense? And is pointless? Also, Sidney was going to have hate-sex with Klaus (again, don't ask), but then it became hate-sex with Klaus and Anastasia, and then I just decided… Um, no? That's super unnecessary?

I've hinted at Elijah's attraction to Sidney a few times, which she and Damon are both very aware of. It might have been reciprocated in a world where Sidney and Damon were never together and might exist as a one-shot at some point. But, for now, will only be explored in the form of Sidney and Elijah taking advantage of each other to protect their families. They're way too similar to ever work out, in my opinion. Also, Elijah does not romantically care for Sidney right now. If he did, he wouldn't have helped her sacrifice herself for Elena, now would he?

Klaus and Sidney. Oh, boy. Most of the first half of _The Monster Diaries_ will be dedicated to exploring that relationship in all of its ups and downs. As it stands now, however, (as in, him turning Sidney and taking her with him) I wouldn't describe their relationship as romantic or sexual in any form or fashion. Sidney is absolutely terrified of Klaus. Fear has no place in a romantic relationship. Klaus is obsessed with loyalty, and Sidney is nothing if not loyal- she proved that to him as his enemy, and now he wants her as his friend. Whether or not anything comes of that… Well, we'll see in _The Monster Diaries._ (Also, yes, I'm thinking about putting up some form of one-shot with a Klaus/Sidney AU, for those of you who ship them. Yes, Klausney shippers, I know you're out there. And, yes, you will get a few moments in the next installment.)

 **What happens in** _ **The Monster Diaries?**_

Alright-y, bare bones, spoiler-free outline:

Sidney and Klaus make hybrids together and kind of bond in strange and angst-y ways, but Sidney is super in love with Damon, so… Rebekah pops up and has scenes with Sidney, and the three of them head back to Mystic Falls where Sidney is reunited with loved ones. Drama between Keeley, Elena, Stefan, and Klaus ensues, and Original Vampire bullshittery is afoot. Damon and Klaus hate each other like no other, and Kol has a thing for Keeley which makes Stefan feel weird feelings.

Things go completely AU after Esther, fair warning. If I followed canon _VD,_ getting Sidney and co. out of Mystic Falls (and ending this series) would be either completely out of character or ridiculously impossible. So, if you really hate AUs, I don't recommend reading _The Monster Diaries._

 **Why does** _ **The Damsel in Distress Diaries**_ **series have to end?**

Because I have professional goals, and, unfortunately for all of us, is not considered professional. As much as I love this series, it takes up a lot of my time: Time that I'd honestly rather put into original works that can be published and help me earn money to support myself. I'm about to enter my junior year of college, and the future is, unfortunately, something I need to think about.

 **What happens when** _ **The Damsel in Distress Diaries**_ **ends?**

It evolves into other works. There will be a short spin-off about life post-Sidney Gilbert in Mystic Falls called _The Lunatic Diaries_ , starring Keeley, Caroline, and Stefan as supernatural vigilantes. I've also already gotten to work turning _The Damsel in Distress Diaries_ into an original work that I plan on writing and getting published.

 **What is** _ **The Lunatic Diaries**_ **about?**

Keeley, Caroline, and Stefan dealing with life in Mystic Falls post- _The Monster Diaries._ It's a kind of AU of post season 3 _Vampire Diaries_ with Keeley instead of Elena. There's a solid love triangle/square/basically a big tangled mess between all the main characters, and Keeley has to emotionally deal with the more traumatic events of _The Monster Diaries_.

 **Will Sidney (and possibly Damon) make any appearances in** _ **The Lunatic Diaries**_?

Yup! Sidney will turn up in Mystic Falls occasionally when things get out of Keeley's control, and there might be a chapter or even a one-shot dedicated to her life post-Mystic Falls.

 **What about the original work you're making inspired by** _ **The Damsel in Distress Diaries**_ **?**

The series stars Sidney and Keeley as sisters who become involved in the supernatural underworld. Elements and original characters from _Jane Doe_ and _The Damsel in Distress Diaries_ will be present, though it won't follow the plot of either. Damon kind of exists in this work, though his name and backstory are drastically different. His relationship with Sidney takes a lot more time, too, and there isn't a Katherine character involved, though Klaus kind of exists. I'm not sure when this work will be finished, let alone published, but you can be assured I'll post about it here when it is.

 **When will** _ **The Monster Diaries**_ **be out?**

I don't have an exact date yet, but you can be on the watch for it sometime in late June or early July. I haven't drafted a detailed outline yet, mostly because I could really use a break. _The Monster Diaries_ will be significantly shorter than all other _TDIDD_ fictions, as well. I expect to be finished with it by this time next year.

* * *

Alright-y! Thank you so much for reading, as always, and keep a lookout for more _The Monster Diaries_ updates! Love and God bless!

~Lil


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